Higher Degree Theses

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How to foster visitors’ environmentally responsible behaviour in nature-based tourism of South Korea
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Lee, Jiwon; Ryan, Chris; Cockburn-Wootten, Cheryl
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped patterns of mobility, leisure, and tourism, highlighting the importance of nearby green spaces for physical and psychological wellbeing. At the same time, increasing environmental crises underscored the vulnerability of the tourism sector to climate change. Within this context, nature-based tourism (NBT) has gained attention for its potential to promote stress recovery, attentional restoration, and wellbeing, as explained by Attention Restoration Theory and Stress Recovery Theory. These restorative outcomes are also associated with ecological awareness and environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). However, empirical research examining the relationships among multidimensional visitor experiences, restorative outcomes, environmental attitudes (NEP), and ERB remains limited, particularly in East Asian contexts. South Korea provides a distinctive setting for this inquiry due to its mountainous geography and cultural traditions emphasising harmony with nature. In particular, Seoul’s Dullegil trails, which attract over 1.6 million visitors annually, offer a unique urban nature-based tourism context where natural and urban landscapes coexist. Accordingly, the objectives of this study are: (1) to identify the multidimensional nature of visitor experiences within Korean nature-based tourism settings; (2) to examine how these experiential dimensions relate to restorative outcomes and environmental attitudes; and (3) to investigate how such experiences and outcomes contribute to environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). Guided by a post-positivist paradigm, this study employs a mixed methods design to capture both generalizable patterns and in-depth insights into visitor experiences. Quantitative data were collected through on-site surveys to examine relationships among key variables, while qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured interviews to explore the meanings behind individual experiences. According to the interview guideline suggested by Castillo-Montoya (2016) interview questions were systematically developed and total 26 participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling of visitors to Seoul’s Dullegil trails. Interviews were conducted on-site or nearby between December 2023 and January 2024, lasting 45–60 minutes. Visual prompts, such as photos of hiking routes, were used to encourage rich responses. All interviews were recorded, transcribed in Korean, and translated into English with back-translation to ensure accuracy. For the analysis of qualitative interview, thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke (2006)’s six-phase framework, identified ten overarching themes and 64 experiential codes, capturing cognitive, emotional, relational, and aesthetic dimensions of trekking. Frequently reported experiences included appreciation of scenery, pleasure and excitement, and stress relief. These qualitative insights informed the development of 57 structured survey items, validated through expert review using the Content Validity Index. A pilot survey with 119 responses confirmed the reliability of all items via PCA, KMO, and Bartlett’s tests, providing a robust foundation for the subsequent quantitative phase. In the quantitative phase, 598 valid survey responses were collected from trekkers on Seoul’s Dullegil trails to test hypotheses developed from the qualitative stage. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed nine experiential dimensions—immersion, therapeutic, achievement, reflective, learning, social interaction, social bonding, unpleasant, and perceived risk—alongside restorative outcomes (RES), environmental attitudes (NEP), and environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). Structural equation modelling demonstrated robust measurement properties and adequate model fit, explaining substantial variance in RES (R² = 0.617), NEP (R² = 0.328), and ERB (R² = 0.406). Immersive experience emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor, exerting positive effects on all three outcomes. Therapeutic, achievement, and learning experiences influenced both RES and ERB, while reflective experience predicted only RES. Social bonding was positively associated with RES and ERB, whereas casual interaction had a targeted effect on ERB alone. Perceived risk showed no significant associations, while unpleasant experiences unexpectedly heightened NEP. Among outcome relationships, RES predicted ERB but not NEP, whereas NEP directly predicted ERB, indicating distinct but complementary pathways to responsible behaviour. These findings demonstrate that specific experiential dimensions contribute differently to restorative outcomes and environmentally responsible behaviour. In particular, immersive and therapeutic experiences emerged as important pathways promoting both restoration and pro-environmental engagement, while eco-centric beliefs (NEP) directly influenced environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). This study advances theory and practice in nature-based tourism by integrating qualitative insights with quantitative modelling. It extends Attention Restoration Theory, Stress Recovery Theory, and Social Exchange Theory by identifying nine experiential dimensions and incorporating embodiment, broaden-and-build, self-determination, social norm, and social capital perspectives. Managerially, findings recommend trail designs that prioritise immersive and therapeutic features, foster social bonding, and enhance exploratory learning to jointly promote restoration and environmentally responsible behaviour. Limitations include the urban, Seoul-specific trekking context, cross-sectional and self-reported data, and limited sensitivity of NEP to short-term experiences. Future research should test generalisability across settings, employ longitudinal/experimental designs, incorporate behavioural observations (e.g., GPS/litter audits), use complementary attitudinal constructs (e.g., identity, place attachment), and examine negative experiences alongside positive ones.
The influence of organisational environmental sustainability on employee outcomes
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Sheeran, Zane; Sutton, Anna; Cooper-Thomas, Helena D.
As two global challenges - climate change and mental health crises - intensify, organisations are increasingly being called to address both environmental sustainability and human well-being. In this thesis, we investigate whether environmental sustainability within organisations can simultaneously support the natural environment and enhance positive human outcomes, specifically, well-being and performance. Grounded in the theories of Person-Organisation fit and Self Determination, we address the overarching question: Can sustainability in organisations enhance the well-being and performance of employees? This thesis consists of four interconnected studies, that each explored key parts of this question using diverse populations and research methods. Study One (N = 292 ) used a cross-sectional design to examine whether university students who perceive their institutions as more environmentally sustainable report higher levels of well-being, and whether this relationship is moderated by their environmental attitudes. Study Two (N = 199) focused on an employee population and assessed how perceived organisational sustainability relates to both employee well-being and job performance using a cross-sectional design. It also tested whether sustainability mediates the relationship between well-being and performance, offering novel insights into the mechanisms linking sustainability and human outcomes. Study Three (N = 628 [T1], 493 [T2]) used network analysis to examine the interconnectedness of sustainability with work-related and employee variables over time. Finally, Study Four (N =72) used a mixed methods intervention-based design with a waitlist control to investigate potential causality, testing whether increasing employees’ perceptions of their workplaces’ sustainability could influence their well-being and performance. The findings indicate that environmental sustainability within organisations is positively related to both well-being and performance. Study One showed students who perceived their institution as more environmentally sustainable reported higher well-being, independent of their personal environmental attitudes. Study Two showed that sustainability and well-being independently predicted job performance, with sustainability adding explanatory value beyond well-being and partially mediating the well-being–performance relationship. Study Three demonstrated stable interconnections between sustainability, well-being, performance, and person–organisation fit over time. Finally, Study Four provided initial evidence for potential causal effects. Combined, these findings have important implications for organisations and their leadership. By authentically embedding sustainability into core workplace strategy and culture, organisations can not only address pressing environmental challenges and reap the related benefits such as increased public image, but also cultivate healthier and higher-performing employees.
Tīmata whakaora, kickstarting recovery - Using bivalves to bioremediate degraded estuarine sediments
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Prinz, Natalie; Ellis, Joanne I.; Pilditch, Conrad A.; Savage, Candida; Gladstone-Gallagher, Rebecca V.
Estuarine soft sediment ecosystems worldwide are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic, land-derived and marine stressors that compromise their health and functionality with cascading effects on ecosystem services that they provide. Once degraded, natural recovery can take years due to the loss of long-lived, functionally important benthic species. These species are important in maintaining internal feedback loops, thereby facilitating resilient communities that underpin critical ecosystem functions. In this thesis, I evaluated the role of two functionally distinct bivalve species, Austrovenus stutchburyi, a surface-dwelling suspension feeding bioturbator, and Macomona liliana, a deep-burrowing porewater-pressuriser, in supporting recovery of estuarine function following disturbance. Two field experiments in Tauranga Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand were conducted, first a controlled disturbance-recovery translocation trial (after acute disturbance) and second, a large-scale translocation across a gradient of environmental (chronic) stress. In the first experiment bivalves were added to defaunated plots in single and combined species treatments and compared to ambient and defaunated no-addition controls. Measurements were taken over a period of 389 days (one year) and included influence of bivalve additions on sediment properties, nutrient cycling, benthic metabolism (Chapter 2), and community composition recruitment (Chapter 3). Results from the first research chapter (Chapter 2) demonstrate that A. stutchburyi consistently enhanced ecosystem function proxies, reducing sediment mud content, increasing oxygen consumption, and stimulating ammonium flux, even when survival was low, compared to unaided recovery. In contrast, M. liliana showed limited direct effects on the measured ecosystem functions and the co-addition of both species did not yield synergistic effects. The second research chapter (Chapter 3) elucidates that the presence of A. stutchburyi also altered macrofaunal recovery trajectories and moderated the proliferation of opportunistic species, particularly in the absence of M. liliana. In contrast, M. liliana only treatments showed limited impact on functional recovery metrics but contributed to expected post-disturbance recruitment patterns by opportunists. Juveniles of both bivalve species settled in all treatments, M. liliana juveniles were enhanced in all defaunated treatments, whereas A. stutchburyi decreased but approached ambient after one year in all but M. liliana only treatments. While all treatments trended toward ambient community states over the course of one year, differences in recruitment patterns and functional diversity suggest that species additions only subtly altered recovery trajectories. In the third research chapter (Chapter 4), A. stutchburyi was translocated across 9 sites within the Tauranga Harbour. Results showed that translocation success was not dependent on the overall stress-gradient or ambient A. stutchburyi densities. Translocation success did, however, vary with heavy metal (zinc) contamination after three months, even when concentrations were well below guideline thresholds. Effects of translocations on measures of ecosystem productivity could only be discerned in translocation sites with >44% clam retention, showing that increases in benthic metabolism and organic matter degradation are dependent on bivalve survival. The synthesis of these chapters offers insights into the potential of using adult ecosystem engineering bivalves, particularly A. stutchburyi, to facilitate estuarine recovery and places this work in the broader context of restoration ecology with management implications. These findings highlight the importance of early reintroduction of ecosystem engineers to re-establish complex facilitatory feedbacks and support estuarine ecosystem recovery. However, successful restoration depends on environmental context, particularly the extent of stressor reduction needed to ensure translocation survival.
Staying with our trouble: Disease and dis-ease in sick-lit & eco-fiction from Aotearoa New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Rogers, Heidi Lee; Chidgey, Catherine; Long, Maebh; Slaughter, Tracey
In this thesis, I compare depictions of disease by Māori and Pākehā/European authors of young adult fiction, demonstrating that while Pākehā illness narratives tend to employ the microscope, and individualise disease through a form of narrative containment and compartmentalisation reflective of a Western world view, Māori illness narratives tend to employ the macroscope, and collectivise disease, moving the focus from the individual to broader human and other-than-human environments. However, I argue the containment observed in pre-COVID Pākehā illness narratives appears to be disintegrating, as post-pandemic publications move into closer alignment with Māori-authored narratives, which combine elements of sick-lit and eco-fiction genres. Further, I argue that within these Pākehā texts, te ao Māori (the Māori world) offers healing for Pākehā characters, yet the fundamental concerns driving Māori-authored fiction—namely, the dis-eases rooted in colonial capitalism, such as, for example, intergenerational grief, trauma, and inequity—are left largely unearthed. Though disease appears to be ubiquitous in Māori fiction, I found Māori characters are often absent from Pākehā-authored hospital-based sick-lit, and relegated to the margins in Pākehā-authored eco-fiction, where they appear healthy, and content to support the goals of dis-eased Pākehā. In contrast to their fallible Pākehā counterparts, I argue these Māori side-characters are limited by “goodness”, and are at risk of being reduced to a kind of “herbal supplement”, as Pākehā authors fail to address the conflicts and disparities between Māori and Pākehā worlds: a vital aspect of our local ecology that I propose cannot, in good faith, be divorced from realist Aotearoa New Zealand eco-fiction, given the significance of Land Back and decolonisation movements to the health and wellbeing of our Treaty partners, and arguably, to all New Zealanders. Despite disparities in representation, I argue Māori and Pākehā authors of young adult eco-fiction essentially identify the same “poison” and “medicine”—respectively: toxic masculinity, and reconnection with the other. In conclusion, this thesis presents my original young adult novel, which incorporates aspects of human and environmental disease and dis-ease I argue are underrepresented in local young adult fiction by Pākehā authors. Tāne and the Invisibles follows a queer Pākehā protagonist and her Māori and Tauiwi friends as they navigate eco-anxiety, anticipatory grief, and the uncertainties surrounding their increasingly complex relationships with Self, each other, and the human and other-than-human Other.
The macroeconomic factors and political environment: Analysis of balance of payments, foreign exchange reserves and economic growth
(The University of Waikato, 2026-05) Iqbal, Ayesha; Bai, Martin; Mukherjee, Abhishek
This is a global study comprising three analyses of macroeconomic dynamics in world economies, focusing on key areas that influence the macroeconomic cycle and financial stability, taking into account institutional and governance factors. The first study examines the policy impact of tariffs, interest rates, and political stability on the balance of payments among three income groups classified by the World Bank. The global panel data, sourced from the World Bank, covers the period from 2002 to 2022 and is divided into three groups based on per capita income: High Income, Upper Middle Income, and Lower Middle-Income countries. This study investigates how these variables influence the balance of payments across different economic conditions and whether their effects vary. The analysis employs Panel Least Squares, Fixed Effects Regression, GMM, and Dumitrescu panel Granger causality tests. The findings confirm that these variables exert different impacts in the selected groups, highlighting that the importance of tariffs and interest rates as policy tools cannot be overlooked. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between macroeconomic variables within each income group and underscores the significance of political stability for economic outlook. The second study investigates the influence of various macroeconomic variables and governance quality on foreign exchange reserve accumulation across high-income, upper middle-income, and lower middle-income countries from 2002 to 2023. A governance quality index is created using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) from six governance indicators from the World Governance Indicators. The data is divided into different sub-periods to explore effects during various economic phases such as the global financial crisis (2002-2008), the recovery period (2009-2019), and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023). Panel data regression models (POLS, fixed effects, and random effects) and a Panel Vector Auto-Regression (PVAR) model are employed to examine the effects of these variables and analyse shocks in the reserves. The findings reveal diverse results across income groups and time periods. For high-income countries (HICs), governance quality and institutional stability emerge as key drivers of economic resilience, especially following crises. Upper middle-income countries (UMICs) show a strong link between governance quality, inflation stabilisation, and monetary credit effectiveness, whereas lower middle-income countries (LMICs) are more vulnerable to external shocks, particularly through exchange rate volatility and external debt burdens. The overall analysis also highlights the significance of the digitisation era as a major contributor to reserve accumulation across all income groups and opens numerous avenues for future research. The PVAR analysis further supports these conclusions, indicating that governance quality has a substantial impact on macroeconomic variables across all income groups. The third study analyses top remittance-receiving lower middle-income countries, divided into two groups based on their level of democracy. The aim is to examine the differential impact of remittance, the democracy index, their interaction, and the militarisation index on economic growth. The study employs Panel Regression (POLS), Fixed Effects (FE), and Random Effects (RE). To ensure the robustness of the results, an additional analysis using Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) is also conducted. The results reveal a negative relationship between both democracy and remittances with growth in countries with stable democracies, whereas a positive relationship is observed in countries with less democratic institutions. The study also introduces a novel variable, the Gross Militarisation Index (GMI), and applies slope homogeneity and cointegration tests, which also yield favourable results. These outcomes highlight the importance of political context in modelling the economic impact of remittances and democratic institutions. The research recommends that tailored policy frameworks be implemented in each nation’s institutional structure, focusing on effectiveness to promote inclusive and sustainable development.
Biocultural strength: Understanding sex, gender, and performance in Olympic weightlifting
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Nelson, Monica; Thorpe, Holly Aysha; Wheaton, Belinda; Sims, Stacy; Clarke, Gloria Hinemoa
This thesis examines how women Olympic Weightlifters’ performances are impacted by multiple, contradictory, and evolving sex- and gender-related knowledges. Adopting Frost’s theory of “biocultural creatures,” this study contributes to the sociocultural study of sport, gender, sex, and bodily difference by exploring the intertwining of biological, environmental, and sociocultural influences in women’s strength. Positioned within the field of feminist Science Technology Studies (STS), this research operationalizes feminist Actor-Network Theory to guide examination of the contents and effects of local and international Olympic Weightlifting knowledge networks. Ethnographic methods are used to trace knowledges at two gyms in Aotearoa New Zealand, including participant ethnography, longitudinal strength tracking with seven women weightlifters, focus groups with 15 women athletes, and interviews with three coaches. To map internationally circulating knowledges, this research draws from interviews with eight elite coaches and five sport administrators, reviews of academic literature, and digital ethnography of Instagram. This is a PhD with publications. Following literature review and methodology chapters, empirical chapters engage different theoretical frameworks that are derived from feminist STS. The first empirical chapter utilizes Haraway’s concept of situated knowledge to examine how coaches’ understandings of sex and gender are constructed. Applying Persdotter’s concept of menstrunormativity, the next chapter traces the construction and bodily effects of sport-specific menstrual norms. The final empirical chapter uses Mol’s sociology of contrasts to illustrate how women Olympic Weightlifters’ bodies are multiply enacted through divergent knowledges of sex, gender, and strength. This thesis expands current research on women in sport by demonstrating the contemporary understandings of sex and gender that shape athletes’ performances. It further highlights the necessity of continued inquiry that explores women’s biocultural athletic capacities.
Some applications of multinuclear NMR
(The University of Waikato, 1990) Thomson, Ralph Alexander; Mackay, Kenneth M.; Wilkins, Alistair L.
This work makes use of the rapidly expanding technique of Fourier Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FT-NMR) Spectroscopy to study a number of different areas of chemistry. Work was carried out into the study of new pulse sequences, and composite pulses, to improve the observing conditions for low frequency nuclei. These techniques were applied to the study of ⁷³Ge NMR, a spin ⁹/₂ nucleus of low resonance frequency. The polarisation transfer pulse sequence INEPT has found considerable use in ¹³C NMR but is less widely used for other nuclei, despite its inherent advantages. This sequence was used in a ²⁹Si NMR study to determine the ²J coupling constants of compounds in the series Mec₍₄₋ₓ₎Si(GeH₃)ₓ (x = 1,2,3). Inversion of peaks as a result of the INEPT sequence help clarify the couplings in this twelve spin system. ¹¹B NMR was used to study the adducts formed by the reaction of the boron trihalides BCl₃, BBr₃, and BI₃ with the donors PPh₃, NPh₃, and AsPh₃. Other techniques have not been able to provide a clear picture of what is happening in these reactions, but NMR has provided a much clearer picture. Unfortunately it has not provided a definite answer on the pathway of halogen exchange within the adducts formed. Another system undergoing halogen exchange was also studied, this time using ¹¹⁰Sn NMR. In the reactions of Et₄NSnX₃ with Y₃SnCo(CO)₄ (X,Y = Cl, Br) a crystal structure of the products could not be refined because of disorder in the halogen atoms. While other techniques were able to show that a number of different species existed in solution ¹¹⁹Sn NMR was able to show what these species were and was able to indicate the amount of each existing in solution.
Planning for a power station: intentions, interactions, and outcomes
(The University of Waikato, 1990) Dixon, Jennifer; Stokes, Evelyn; Bettison, David
Planning practice involves a complex set of social activities, engaged in by individuals acting in various local and national institutional contexts. These actions are constrained by legislation and policies of central and local government, institutional arrangements, the positions held by officials and the sets of social and spatial constructs held by the participants, both lay and professional. This thesis elucidates the phenomenon of planning in respect of the search for a site for a coal-fired power station. The search for a site focussed on the Waikato, a region in the North Island, New Zealand. It was conducted by central government officials from the New Zealand Electricity Division of the Ministry of Energy over a six year period from 1979 to 1985. The proposed Waikato Thermal Power Station was part of a national development strategy formulated by the National Party Government to exploit indigenous energy resources as a means of restructuring New Zealand’s economic base. The Waikato coal fields became a major focus for the Government’s ‘Think-Big’ programme. Proposals to expand and develop several underground and opencast coal fields and construct another coal-fired power station were imposed on the social organisation of the region without prior consultation. Local and regional authorities with their various planning instruments were expected to co-operate in the implementation of this national plan. In order to facilitate planning for the projects, special ad hoc committee arrangements were put in place by central government officials to liaise with local authority politicians and staff. The thesis is developed through a reflexive enquiry whereby the phenomenon of planning is shown to be constituted and reconstituted by the participants in the planning process. Thus the enquiry reveals the intentions, interactions and outcomes which comprise the realities of planning in this case study. This enquiry is presented in three Parts. Following the introduction, Part One sets the methodogical, legal and organisational context. Part Two presents the fieldwork investigations. Part Three elucidates the phenomenon of planning and reflects on the research experiences of the writer. The phenomena revealed elucidate the nature of planning practice. Methods of investigation comprised the conduct of in-depth, unstructured interviews with lay and professional participants; the analysis of interview transcripts; searching of central and local government files; and examining minutes of committee meetings as well as government reports and legislation. A hermeneutic analysis of these texts was used to elucidate the meanings and contexts of participants acting as individuals, acting collectively in informal and formal situations, and in various institutional contexts. Analysis revealed that meanings and contexts of planning constructs were constantly reformulated by participants as investigations proceeded over the six year period. Reformulation of these constructs occurred in three on-going, interdependent processes; those of people involved practically in selection of a site, people engaged in planning as a phenomenon, and public involvement in site selection and its anticipated consequences. Individual actions were influenced by past experiences, planning constructs and institutional contexts. These understandings explained the ineffectiveness of the construct of regional planning as an instrument in facilitating the implementation of the project. The thesis concludes with a statement of theoretical understanding that has evolved from the research experience.
Retelling the old, old story: a study of six mass evangelistic missions in twentieth-century New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 1990) Gilling, Bryan Dudley; Barber, Laurie; Pratt, Douglas
Modern revivalistic evangelism developed from the British Evangelical Revivals and the American Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. The theological and practical foundations were laid for the development of new approaches and techniques to persuade hearers of their sinfulness and need to become converted to the Christian faith. Although they have been employed to some extent in Britain, the refinement and full exploitation of these techniques has been a particularly American phenomenon, exercising substantial theological, social and political influence beyond conservative Christian society. There have been six major revivalistic missions to New Zealand with American style and leadership, those of R.A. Torrey (1902), J.W. Chapman (1912-1913), Billy Graham (1959 and 1969), and Leighton Ford and Luis Palau (1987). Each of these has sought to exert over New Zealand society the same spiritual and moral influence enjoyed in America, and to be a means of raising the membership and public profile of the Protestant churches. This thesis surveys these six missions to determine common themes which run through them, and differences and changes between them. Firstly, the backgrounds of the evangelists reveal the influences these have on the styles and messages of the missions. Then the mechanics of conducting the missions are considered, the different methodologies adopted by the evangelists and how they altered over time. A summary of the theological and social messages promulgated in New Zealand then gives insight into the kind of Christianity the evangelists have presented to their audiences. Fourthly, the variations in the reception given the missions by New Zealanders are noted and conclusions drawn from the thesis illustrating the changing nature of New Zealand Protestant Christianity during the twentieth century. Finally, an assessment is made of the overall impact such missions have had on individuals, churches and the wider society in New Zealand. The case is argued and the conclusion reached that none of these missions seems to have made much long-term impression upon either their supporters, the Protestant churchgoers, or upon the wider society. Such impact as they had tended to be greater in the anticipation than the event and seldom received more than passing attention from those outside existing Christian church life. Even the proportion of Protestants supporting evangelistic missions’ very utilisation fell and the revivalists themselves came to be viewed by many as divisive and morally regressive, rather than as agents of a unifying and morally authoritative Christian faith. Their theology, too, was often critiqued as simplistic, as was the use of psychological pressure inherent in their methods. The major resulting benefits for the churches concerned have not been in large increases in membership, but in the opportunities to unite churches internally and with each other over some common ground, in the provision of a group of laypeople within the churches who have their interest and experience in evangelism heightened, and in the recommitment and dedication of many existing members’ lives to their faith and its practical expression. New Zealand society has been less susceptible to offers of spiritual ‘peace with God’ than that of the United States. There has remained, though, a substantial and strongly committed element of fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals prepared still to promote the use of revivalistic methods of mass evangelism to seek the conversion of non-Christians, to unify existing churches around a great, transdenominational opportunity to do God’s work, and to provide a vast public relations exercise to prove to the public and to themselves that Christianity is still a living and active spiritual and social force.
A conflict between culture and technology a case study of a major industrial company and a Māori subtribe
(The University of Waikato, 1990) Hanley, Garry; Ritchie, James; Gilling, Don
This thesis is about the conflicts of interest that arise when particular attitudes, beliefs and cultures of indigenous people concerning their heritage, their land, and their perceived inalienable obligations, confront those of resource developers with a different perspective. It is about the resultant tensions and about the different forms that their resolution took with regard to one specific project - the Government authorised utilisation of the ironsand in the Waikato region by New Zealand Steel Company Limited. It describes both the Māori tribal systems and the evolution of the company and its management philosophy. It details the major conflict that emerged, backgrounds the rise of the Māori protest movement and focuses upon the strategies employed by the Tainui Māori Trust Board in response to the New Zealand Steel Company’s expansion plans. In any industrial development the relations between developers and various stakeholders is a matter of crucial concern. In the presented case one of the protagonists was a newly formed organisation that was sponsored by the Government and initially partly owned by the Government. At first the Company proceeded cautiously to mine the ironsand on the Crown land at Maioro on the north side of the Waikato River, having secured the appropriate permits to do so which included drawing water from the Waikato River and discharging processed water and stormwater into the Manukau Harbour. Initially the local Māori subtribe was silent about its feelings but that silence did not betoken full acquiescence. Its people were employed and housed if necessary by the Company as were other local people, and enjoyed the benefits of an improved local economy. The Company’s venture to mine and export ironsand from Taharoa, located on the coast some one hundred and ninety kilometres south of the Waikato River mouth, was successful and in the absence of indications to the contrary it assumed that it was not acting in any offensive manner with regard to cultural values. However, the Company was surprised when at the 1978 Water Rights hearing relationships between the parties became acrimonious, and again when Māori protests emerged following the issue of the Environmental Impact Report in 1980. But even then the Management did not foresee the trouble that was brewing. This thesis explores the issues from both sides as it developed from a single concern to one that became highly complex. The thesis shows that inspite of the Company’s willingness to find solutions to the problems, it did not at any stage publicise its concerns for the people it dealt with. The Company hoped that by its actions it would be fairly judged. At the present time the issues of land ownership and mining rights have still to be satisfactorily resolved. But from reference to similar conflicts between developers and indigenous peoples in other parts of the world the hope is that a satisfactory settlement is not far off. Although having said this, it should be noted that the latest development in the continuing saga was a ‘sit-in’ by members of the Ngati Te Ata sub-tribe at the Maioro mine site. (Manukau Courier 30.1.90) There has also been a conciliatory meeting between the parties at the Tahuna Marae. The claim here is that all parties in future technological and anthropological disputes were better to try to learn lessons from the past if they are to reach any satisfactory settlement.
Multiple schedules: the effects of temporal factors on behaviour
(The University of Waikato, 1990) Hunt, Maree Joanne; Foster, T. Mary; Temple, William
Domestic hens served in three experiments examining the effects of varying the temporal proximity of component schedules on behaviour on multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedules. In all experiments response rates on each component schedule and in successive subintervals of the components were determined. Data were analysed to obtain estimates of the parameters of the Generalised Matching Law for total responding and for responding in successive subintervals of components. Four hens served in the first experiment which examined the effects of reducing component duration while reinforcement rates in the component schedules were frequently reversed. The results indicated that values of the parameter α of the Generalised Matching Law generally increased as component duration was reduced. Changes in response rates contributing to the decrease in α values varied across hens. Local positive and local negative contrast were present in all hens’ data in some conditions but not in others. The conditions in which these phenomena occurred varied across hens. For three hens values of α declined across successive subintervals of components at all component durations. This effect was also present at the longer component durations in the fourth hen’s data but, for this hen’s data, α values increased over successive subintervals when component duration was reduced. The second experiment examined the effect of increasing and then decreasing the duration of an intercomponent blackout. Six hens served in this experiment. Blackout durations examined were 1 s, 10 s, 30 s, 60 s, 120 s, 180 s and 297 s. At each blackout duration the reinforcement rates in component schedules were varied. Response rates on both components of the multiple schedules tended to increase as the blackout duration was increased. Values of the parameter α decreased as blackout duration was increased and for five birds became negative. Changes in α values and response rates across successive subintervals similar to those seen in the first experiment were present when the blackout duration was 1 s. As blackout duration was increased these changes were attenuated. Values of α and response rates for overall responding observed when blackout duration was 1 s and 30 s were not replicated when blackout duration was then decreased. The third experiment examined the effects of blackout duration using multiple-multiple schedules. In the first phase of this experiment the behaviour of six hens on the multiple schedules of the multiple-multiple schedules was compared with behaviour of the same hens on each multiple schedule when one schedule was presented in each condition. The results of this phase suggested that behaviour on each multiple schedule of the multiple-multiple was qualitatively similar to behaviour on the same multiple schedules when they were presented singly. In the second phase of this experiment three of the hens employed in the first phase were exposed to a series of conditions where the duration of an intercomponent blackout was varied. The blackout durations examined in the order they were presented were 1 s, 30 s, 60 s, 0 s, 120 s. For two of the hens’ data values of α for overall responding decreased as a function of blackout duration. For one of these hen’s data α values became negative. For the third hen’s data α values decreased when the blackout duration was increased to 120 s. Absolute response rates contributing to these α values varied across hens. Within component changes in response rates also varied across hens. Values of α decreased across successive subintervals for all hens’ data when no blackout separated components but this effect was present in only one hen’s data in other conditions. In general changes in response rates and α values as a function of component or blackout duration were not explicable in terms of the changes in behaviour across successive subintervals of components. These results were examined in terms of several theories previously proposed to explain multiple-schedule performance. It was concluded that none of these could easily accommodate the results obtained in the experiments presented here.
Aspects of group 14 element - transition metal cluster chemistry
(The University of Waikato, 1990) Barris, Glen Clifton; Nicholson, Brian K.; Mackay, Kenneth M.
The synthesis of Sn[Fe₂(CO)₈]₂ from the SnCl₄/[Fe(CO)₄]²⁻ and SnCl₄/[Fe₂(CO)₈]²⁻ systems has been investigated. The reaction of SnCl₄ with the product mixture obtained by Na/amalgam reduction of Fe(CO)₅ provided the optimum yield (64% based on Sn). E[Co₂(CO)₇]₂ (E = Si, Ge), (CO)₄CoECo₃(CO)₉ (E = Si, Ge) and E[Fe₂(CO)₈]₂ (E = Si, Ge, Sn) have been reacted with various transition metal carbonyl anions. The Si[Co₂(CO)₇]₂/[Co(CO)₄]⁻ synthesis of [SiCo₉(CO)₂₁]²⁻, has also yielded [CCo₈(CO)₁₈]²⁻ (characterised by infrared spectroscopy and FABS mass spectroscopy) and [Cl₂SiCo₇(CO)₂₁]⁻ (characterised by X-ray crystallography as the [Et₄N]⁺ salt). A [CCo₁₀(CO)₂₄]ⁿ⁻ species has also been detected by FABS mass spectroscopy. (CO)₄CoGeCo₃(CO)₉ with [Mn(CO)₅]⁻ provided (CO)₅MnGeCo₃(CO)₉ in improved yields (72%). The reaction of the Si analogue gave (CO)₅MnSiCo₃(CO)₉, characterised by infrared spectroscopy and FASS mass spectroscopy. [Co₆(CO)₁₅]= acted as a source of [Co(CO)₄]⁻ and Co₄(CO)₁₂ in reactions with (CO)₄CoECo₃(CO)₉ (E = Si, Ge). [SiCo₉(CO)₂₁]²⁻ and Co₄(CO)₁₂ were isolated as the major products from the Si reaction, and [GeCo₅(CO)₁₆]⁻ from the Ge reaction. [GeCo₅(CO)₁₆]⁻ was also isolated as the major product from the reaction of Ge[Co₂(CO)₇]₂ with [CpNi(CO)]₂. In reactions of Si[Co₂(CO)₇]₂ with [Fe2(CO)₈]²⁻ and [Fe(CO)₃NO]⁻, no Si-containing clusters were detected amongst the products. The first reaction yielded [FeCo₃(CO)₁₂]⁻ (characterised by infrared spectroscopy and preliminary X-ray diffraction), Co₄(CO)₁₂ and Fe(CO)₅; and the latter reaction, [FeCo₃(CO)₁₂]⁻, Co₄(CO)₁₂ and the nitrido cluster, [NCo₆(CO)₁₅]⁻ ( characterised by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography). Combining E[Fe₂(CO)₈]₂ with [Co(CO)₄]⁻, [Fe₂(CO)₈]²⁻ or [Mn(CO)₅]⁻ also failed to produce clusters containing E atoms. No reaction was detected with [Co(CO)₄]⁻; the second reaction yielded [HFe₃(CO)₁₁]⁻ and [Fe₄(CO)₁₃]²⁻; and the third, Mn₂(CO)₁₀ and the carbido cluster [CFe₆(CO)₁₆]²⁻ (characterised by infrared spectroscopy and FABS mass spectroscopy). Some reactions of [SiCo₉(CO)₂₁]²⁻ and [GeCo₅(CO)₁₆]⁻ have been investigated. With [Ph₃PAu]⁺, [SiCo₉(CO)₂₁]²⁻ yielded a species formulated as [SiCo₉(CO)₂₂]³⁻ (from infrared and FABS mass spectroscopy data). A [CCo₁₀(CO)₂₄]⁻ species was also detected by FABS mass spectroscopy. NO⁺ appeared to add on to [SiCo₉(CO)₂₁]²⁻ but the exact nature of this product is not known. Reactions with Cp₂Co, [BuNCAu]⁺ and H⁺ have also yielded products which have not been fully characterised. Treatment of [SiCo₉(CO)₂₁]²⁻ with [(MeCN)₄Cu]⁺ led to disintegration of the cluster. [GeCo₅(CO)₁₆]⁻ did not react with [Ph₃PAu]⁺ or [CpNi(CO)]₂, but with CpFe(CO)₂I yielded Co₄(CO)₁₂, CpFeCo(CO)₆ and [GeCo₇(CO)₂₀]⁻ (characterised by infrared spectroscopy and FABS mass spectroscopy). The electrochemistry of clusters containing trigonal pyrimidal and spiro μ₄-EM₄ groups has been investigated using cyclic voltammetry. LₙMECo₃(CO)₉ (E = Si, Ge; and MLₙ = Co(CO)₄, Mn(CO)₅) compounds undergo an electrochemically reversible one electron reduction process, conforming with what has been reported for YCCo₃ (CO)₉ compounds. [Ge₂Co₇(CO)₂₁]⁻ and [Ge₂Co₅Fe₂(CO₂₂]⁻ contain two EM₃ redox centres which appear to behave independently. Reduction of spiro- E[Fe₂(CO)₈]₂ clusters occurs via two routes leading to [(CO)₄FeEFe₃(CO)₁₀]⁻ (more important for Si and Ge) or [(CO)₈Fe₂]E[Fe(CO)₄]₂²⁻ (more important for Sn and Pb). The cobaltocene reduction of Si[Fe₂(CO)₈]₂ yielded [(CO)₄FeSiFe₃(CO)₁₀]⁻, characterised using infrared spectroscopy. The vibrational spectra of E[Fe₂(CO)₈]₂ (E = Si, Ge, Sn), E[Co₂(CO)₇]₂ (E = Si, Ge) and (CO)₄CoECo₃(CO)₉ (E = Si, Ge) have been recorded and assigned where possible. For the E[Co₂(CO)₇]₂ systems a ‘double-Bor’ model, based on Bor’s analysis of (μ-E)₂M₂(CO)₆ compounds, provides a consistent assignment for the carbonyl vibrations.
Struggle and solidarity in transforming urban futures: The fisher fight for Ennore wetlands in Tamil Nadu, India
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Jayaraman, Nityanand; Kurian, Priya A.; Barrett, Patrick
Mainstream academic research on sustainability transformation overwhelmingly sees it as an innovation-centred, top-down, governance-led process playing out within the capitalist system. This research addresses these biases and the neglect of subaltern agency by examining environmental justice struggles as forces of sustainability transformation. It focuses on the ongoing fisher struggle for the tidal wetlands of Ennore in Tamil Nadu, India. Stretching from the northern edge of Chennai, the Ennore wetlands have been a colonial frontier since the 18th century: first targeted by British empire-building, then by post-independence industrialisation, and later by neoliberal reforms that turned them into an industrial sacrifice zone. Fishers from oppressed castes have resisted this transformation and defended their lifeworlds against dispossession and degradation. Drawing on my research fieldwork as well as a decade of ethnographic engagement while working alongside the Ennore fishers in their struggle, I theorise how subaltern environmentalisms disrupt both the urban-industrial logics of development and the dominant sustainability paradigms that seek to manage their externalities, and how such disruptions enact material, epistemic, and ontological transformations. The thesis traces the struggle’s evolution over five decades from its hyper-local reactive form to a trans-scalar campaign involving legal interventions, coalition-building and cultural and gastro-activism as well as opportunistic campaigns involving more-than-human agents such as the Northeast monsoon and focusing events such as the 2015 Chennai floods. The study asks: 1. How do subaltern struggles emerge from the margins to challenge hegemonic processes that deny recognition to them and their ways of knowing? 2. How do subaltern struggles for environmental justice contribute to transformative change for sustainability? Phrased differently, what does isustainability transformation look like when seen from the perspective of subaltern struggles? From my positionality as activist and researcher, I developed a novel methodological approach—solidarity ethnography—that extends activist ethnography by centring subaltern voices and foregrounding reflexivity. The qualitative study draws on analysis of field notes and interviews, archival work, and collaborative outputs of the Save Ennore Creek Campaign, which was set up by Chennai-based activists, including myself, to mobilise solidarity for the fisher struggle. Two analytical frameworks guide the study: Medina’s (2011) Foucaultian Epistemology of Resistance, which approaches domination and resistance using concepts drawn from Ignorance studies, and a Political Ecology framework of Transformative Resistance that I developed for this research. Together, they reframe domination and resistance as a dynamic of ignorance politics, allowing the analysis to trace how specific forms of ignorance are produced, mobilized, and contested, and how resistance under certain conditions becomes a force for sustainability transformations. The research reveals the role of ignorance, rather than knowledge, in policy-making and exposes the often uncivil and illiberal nature of civil society and liberal law to present a tentative theory of ‘civil’ dispossession that targets non-property spaces and their users. By tracing how Ennore’s fishers resist, persist, and transform, the thesis demonstrates that subaltern struggles are not merely reactive but generative; they reimagine both sustainability and transformation from the margins. In doing so, the research challenges dominant paradigms of sustainability and insists on a justice-first, present-centred approach to ecological and social futures.
Investigating impacts of sleep on recovery and performance in elite rugby union
(The University of Waikato, 2026-05-21) Teece, Angus R.; Beaven, Christopher Martyn; Driller, Matthew W.; Argus, Christos K.; Gill, Nicholas D.
Sleep plays a vital role in daily functioning of biological, cognitive, and physical performance for humans. Additionally, sleep has been widely regarded by athletes to play an important role in recovery from training and competition. Despite the increasing amount of sleep research in athlete populations, elite team sport athletes are still underrepresented in the literature, specifically in collision-based sports, despite the unique challenges facing this population. Therefore, this PhD thesis aims to enhance the understanding of sleep habits of professional, male Rugby Union athletes in both training and competition environments. Finally, the thesis evaluates interventions that could improve sleep in the same population. Study One subjectively assessed the sleep habits of 224 Rugby Union athletes across multiple levels of competition in Rugby Union athletes (academy, semi-professional, and professional) who completed the Athlete Sleep Behaviour Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The results highlighted that differences exist between different levels of competition for specific sleep behaviours; however, sleep behaviours could be improved for all levels of competition in Rugby Union athletes. Study Two assessed the differences in sleep quality, quantity, and behaviours between 38 elite male and 27 elite female Rugby Union athletes via the Athlete Sleep Behaviour Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Male athletes reported significantly longer sleep duration and higher sleep efficiency. The study highlighted that differences existed between elite male and female Rugby Union athletes and that elite male and female athletes face specific sleep challenges. Study Three investigated nightly sleep duration during a three-week preseason training period in 29 professional Rugby Union athletes using wrist actigraphy. Aerobic capacity and body composition were assessed at Baseline, at Week 3, and at Week 5. Participants were split into two groups for analysis as less than 7 h 30 min per night or greater than 7 h 30 min per night. The results highlighted that longer sleep duration during a preseason phase may assist in enhancing physical qualities including aerobic capacity and body composition. Study Four assessed the sleep and wake variability of 23 professional Rugby Union athletes during a preseason period of training. Sleep was monitored via wrist actigraphy for three weeks and the athletes completed a daily wellness questionnaire. Athletes were split into two groups based on their calculated sleep regularity index (regular and irregular). The regular group displayed significantly longer sleep duration and greater sleep efficiency and less wake episodes. The results highlighted that minimising variability in sleep onset and offset is beneficial for increasing sleep duration. Study Five investigated the prevalence of naps on match day in 30 professional Rugby Union athletes and its subjective link to match performance across a 17-match season. Athletes were asked about their napping practices and their perceived performance during match play. Additionally, three team coaches evaluated match performance of each participant. The results highlighted that 86% of athletes used pre-match naps with a greater amount taken during away matches compared to home matches. Additionally, the odds of an athlete rating their performance as “good” was increased when they napped and won the match. Study Six investigated the effectiveness of daytime naps on afternoon physical performance in a randomized cross-over design with 15 professional Rugby Union athletes. Athletes performed a nap or no nap condition on two occasions, separated by one week. Baseline testing of reaction time, self-reported wellness, and a 6-second peak power test on a cycle ergometer was completed in the morning followed by 2 x 45-minute training sessions. Athletes completed nap or no nap condition at 1200 h. Baseline measures were retested in the afternoon in addition to a 30-mintue fixed intensity interval cycle and a 4-minute maximal effort cycling test. The study highlighted that utilising daytime naps between training sessions on the same day, improved afternoon peak power and lowered perception of fatigue, soreness and exertion during afternoon training. In summary the series of studies in this thesis provides a foundation for understanding sleep in elite Rugby Union athletes. Sleep challenges and disturbances are prevalent amongst Rugby Union athletes in both training and competition environments. Results show that methods such as consistency in sleep onset and offset, daytime naps, and extending sleep duration can have benefits for Rugby Union athletes. These studies provide valuable information on sleep habits of not only professional Rugby Union athletes but rugby athletes of all levels and codes, which can be used to inform sleep hygiene protocols to target aspects that are most relevant within a given population. Moreover, aspects such as allowance of daytime naps and consistency in schedule to allow for consistent sleep and wake times should be considered when designing recovery within training programs.
The impact of childhood homelessness in Aotearoa’s education spaces: Educators’ ever-expanding roles with children and whānau
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Gordon, Tanith; Cowie, Bronwen; Atatoa Carr, Polly
The Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) education system is the only agency, governmental or otherwise, that children aged 6–16 years and their whānau (families) must engage with. The 2023 Aotearoa census found that 319 of every 10,000 children under the age of 15 years were living with severe housing deprivation (homelessness). Therefore, it is likely that educators in primary and intermediate schools are working with children and their whānau who are experiencing homelessness. However, little is known about the broader impact on educators of working with children and their whānau who are experiencing homelessness, or about educator observations on the effects of homelessness on children in educational spaces in Aotearoa. Furthermore, there are no currently agreed policies or practice guidelines for educational sites and educators to refer to when supporting children and whānau experiencing homelessness. This thesis reports on research conducted with educators in Aotearoa regarding their experiences of and perspectives on working with children and whānau experiencing homelessness. Fifteen educators from schools across Aotearoa, who worked with children aged 5 to 13 years, were recruited and interviewed. The educator participants were all currently employed in schools, and most were registered teachers. The majority held leadership roles (principal or deputy principal) or were learning support coordinators (LSCs); others occupied classroom teaching and non-teaching support positions within their school. Interviews were conducted via zoom and transcribed. Data was analysed using thematic analysis and narrative analysis, and organised using ecological systems theory (EST), (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). An adapted model of EST, Educator Ecological Systems, was developed through the analysis phase, and used to structure the discussion. This research contributes new knowledge about the expansive roles that educators in Aotearoa play in supporting children and whānau experiencing homelessness. It provides insight into the approaches that different educational sites use to promote positive relationships and engagement in the school community and learning programmes, as well as what they have found effective. When educators shared common experiences with children and whānau, this appeared to play a role in the establishment of positive, trusted relationships. However, even in the absence of these shared experiences, educators’ efforts to understand what was happening in the lives of children and whānau could also contribute to building relationships. Educators asserted that holistic support was necessary, which stretched their typical educational role. They described the need to understand, consider, and address physical, social, and mental-emotional well-being when working with children experiencing homelessness. Specifically, the educators shared that, unless there was a focus on “Hauora” (an Indigenous Māori language term for holistic well-being) when working with children impacted by homelessness, it was difficult for children to focus on or make progress in their academic learning. A key finding in this research was that strong relationships were particularly critical for children and whānau experiencing homelessness. Trust was described as a fundamental foundation for developing positive relationships and fostering engagement. Consistency in the educational site itself and in the people working with children and whānau, was described as an essential part of building trusted and productive relationships. A key component of creating consistency was the designation of a primary contact person for whānau to engage with. Identifying the “right” primary contact depended on a myriad of factors, including interactions and availability. Sustained positive relationships were also found to provide stability for impacted children and whānau and were identified as having the power to break down stigma. Creating a culture of care to facilitate a sense of belonging was identified as vital to supporting children and whānau. The educators shared that using trauma-informed approaches in the classroom and the wider school environment could be effective in helping children navigate the stress associated with homelessness. Belongingness was also recognised as a protective factor for children and whānau; this included the presence of a consistent support network and the ability to remain in the same area when experiencing homelessness. However, educators described that children impacted by homelessness often appeared to lose their sense of belonging when they had to move out of the area where they were established. This was identified as a cause of distress among children and whānau as they needed to engage in new educational spaces. Furthermore, entering a tight-knit or smaller community appeared to contribute to children and whānau experiencing a sense of othering due to the community’s knowledge of emergency and transitional housing locations. This research found that clear and focused communication was an integral part of understanding the current needs and previous experiences of children and whānau impacted by homelessness. Communication was identified as essential to ensuring that educators and key staff members were equipped with the necessary information to work effectively and responsively as they taught and supported children and whānau. Furthermore, creating and maintaining open communication channels allowed whānau to share their needs and express their concerns with the schools their children attended. Communication between schools and whānau, between educators within the school, between educators and their learners, and between schools and support organisations was identified by the educators as an essential component of meeting the well-being and academic needs of children and whānau. Progress towards and achievement of learning outcomes has been identified by the participating educators as particularly challenging for children experiencing homelessness. Educators discussed perceived gaps and barriers within the education system that impact their work, interactions with whānau, and children’s achievement outcomes. Many educators described how they or their school had to step in to provide support and resources that they believed should have been provided by other government sectors. They explained that educational sites and educators in Aotearoa were involved in providing housing, social development, and health and disability supports. The participants shared experiences in which they also took on social advocacy roles by providing food and resources, and they worked to build connections with support services on behalf of and with whānau. This research found that educators are undertaking roles that extend beyond the academic and social–emotional aspects of classroom activities and school community. Evidence gathered in this research enabled the development of recommendations for the education sector and other sectors in Aotearoa to better meet the needs of these children and their whānau. These include building knowledge of the scope and impact of homelessness into teacher education and professional development; increasing knowledge of the impact of trauma, trauma-related behaviours, and trauma-informed pedagogy in teacher education and professional development; creating resources to support the purposeful creation of a Culture of Care in schools; developing resources regarding working with whānau and children experiencing homelessness; establishing a robust support network that emphasises the importance of communication pathways within and between schools, agencies, and organisations; and developing agency and organisation systems and government policy focused on prioritising safe, affordable, and long-term housing in school zones.
Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in New Zealand secondary schools: Roles, responsibilities, and agency
(The University of Waikato, 2026-05-14) Dinneen, Anna; Sharma , Sashi; Cook , Sheralyn F.; Earl Rinehart , (Suzanne) Kerry
Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in New Zealand secondary schools are responsible for supporting students with identified additional educational needs, amounting to as many as 700 students (up to 30%) in some larger schools. Despite the scale and importance of the role, there is currently no dedicated funding, no formalised job description, and no mandated qualifications or training for SENCOs. Furthermore, a review of existing New Zealand literature reveals a notable absence of research into the SENCO role at the secondary-school level. Compounding this lack of recognition, the inclusive education sector in New Zealand is under increasing pressure. Literature highlights a rise in the number and diversity of students requiring support, driven in part by New Zealand’s ambitious inclusive education. These changes are placing further strain on an already resource-limited sector. Grounded in constructivist theory, and using relational agency as an analytical lens, this study was motivated by the need to explore how SENCOs in secondary schools understand and navigate their roles within this complex and evolving context. By highlighting the voices of those in SENCO positions, the research seeks to better understand their lived experiences—experiences that have often gone unacknowledged by the Ministry of Education, school leadership, and even SENCOs themselves. The research was conducted in two stages. The first involved an electronic survey distributed to secondary school SENCOs in the North Island of New Zealand, designed to capture a broad understanding of who SENCOs are and what their work entails. The second stage consisted of a longitudinal case study involving three SENCOs, with nine semistructured interviews conducted over an eight-month period, to capture rich data about their experiences. Data was dealt with descriptively and analysed thematically. Findings highlight that the SENCO role is overwhelming, physically and emotionally taxing, and extends well beyond regular school hours. Participants reported being constantly available and shouldering significant emotional and administrative burdens. Participants also identified an increase in the range and numbers of students that SENCOs are required to support. The study raises concerns about whether school leaders and policymakers fully understand the scope and diversity of the needs SENCOs are addressing. This research contributes to a previously underresearched area by documenting the realities of the SENCO role in New Zealand secondary schools. It concludes with three key findings and accompanying recommendations for school leaders and the Ministry of Education. These recommendations include formalisation of the SENCO role, recognising the importance of relational agency, support from leadership, and a reconceptualisation of the SENCO role title and definition of additional learning needs to more accurately reflect the breadth and importance of the work SENCOs perform.
Navigating national priorities, regionalism and internationalisation in National Universities of Moana Oceania
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Levy, Benjamin; Ellis, Sonja; Aporosa, S. 'Apo'; Fa'avae, David Taufui Mikato
This thesis explores how national universities in Moana Oceania navigate national priorities, regionalism, and internationalisation. Focussing on five institutions - the National University of Samoa, Tonga National University, Solomon Islands National University, National University of Vanuatu and Fiji National University - the study is guided by the primary question: How are national priorities centred in national universities of Moana Oceania? Two secondary questions explore the impacts of regionalism and internationalisation on achieving these priorities. The research is framed through social constructionism alongside the Moana Oceania concepts of motutapu and wansolwara, which centre on relationality, the sacredness of place, and shared oceanic connectivity as foundations for knowledge-making and exchange. Methodologically, the study employs critical (Indigenous) ethnography and multiple descriptive case studies, drawing on talanoa, tok stori, and storian as culturally grounded, responsive, and relational knowledge-sharing, supported by collaborative sensemaking and critical policy analysis. The findings revealed three interrelated insights. First, national universities consistently positioned themselves as sites of nation-building and moral leadership, where higher education is inseparable from cultural identity, linguistic and epistemic continuity, and service to communities and the nation. Second, regionalism is experienced as both an anchor and a source of tension. Regional frameworks and institutions can provide solidarity, standards and voice, but often appear distant from the specificity of national contexts and priorities when driven by external agendas. Third, internationalisation is characterised by uneven power relations, donor dependency and epistemic asymmetry, but has the potential to be re-imagined as knowledge diplomacy when partnerships are relational rather than transactional, grounded in Indigenous leadership, reciprocity and equitable agency. Across the five case studies, centring Indigenous worldviews enabled a shift from peripheral adaptation to epistemic sovereignty and leadership in redefining what relevant higher education looks like in and for Moana Oceania. Conceptually, the thesis explores the idea of a ‘relational university’, elaborating on how national universities are being re-envisioned as institutions whose purposes, partnerships, and governance are anchored in Indigenous ethics of relationality, responsibility, and collective wellbeing, with practical and policy implications for regional cooperation and more equitable international engagement.
Process integration and electrification with digital twins
(The University of Waikato, 2026-05-14) Lincoln, Benjamin James; Walmsley, Timothy Gordon; Atkins, Martin John; Walmsley, Michael R.W.; Young, Brent R.
The decarbonisation of industrial process heat is one of the most pressing challenges in the global energy transition. In New Zealand, fossil fuels remain the dominant source of process heat, despite having over 80% renewable electricity generation. Milk powder production is a major consumer of process heat, with evaporation and drying processes relying on large amounts of coal- and gas-fired steam. Electrification technologies such as industrial heat pumps and mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) have the potential to significantly reduce emissions, yet widespread adoption has been limited because of the complex interactions between heat and power, in addition to uncertainties around practicality. Conventional process integration (PI) techniques were designed for fossil-fuelled utilities and are poorly aligned with the work requirements and integration constraints of electrification. Meanwhile, legacy simulation tools are ill-suited to the complex fluids and system interactions of food and dairy processes. This thesis addresses these gaps by developing a generalisable Process Integration and Electrification (PI&E) methodology that combines exergy-based targeting, retrofit strategies, and techno-economic evaluation coupled with an iterative design-centric digital twin framework. The thesis is structured in two parts. Part A develops the digitalisation foundations, including the preparation of a milk evaporation case study, the creation of advanced thermophysical property packages for complex fluids (milk, refrigerants, humid air), and the construction of a design digital twin using both commercial and open-source platforms. Part B applies the digital twin to PI&E, integrating operational optimisation, Exergy Pinch Analysis, and systematic evaluation of electrification technologies in both greenfield and retrofit contexts. For greenfield design, the research extends Pinch Analysis principles to heat pump integration by utilising heat pockets to create multiple Pinch points, enabling systematic minimisation of temperature lift and improved integration opportunities. Building on this, an iterative PI&E design workflow was developed to guide technology placement and evaluate electrification pathways. This culminated in the design of a novel fully electric milk evaporator system that achieved a specific electricity consumption of 120 kWh per tonne of milk powder, compared with 159 kWh/tp for a simpler single heat pump design, demonstrating higher efficiency. For retrofit applications, the thesis advances PI&E by extending heat pump bridge analysis to explicitly include process unit heat flows, allowing process modifications to be considered alongside heat exchanger reconfiguration. This innovation addresses a key gap identified in previous literature, enabling more retrofit strategies. The method was demonstrated through multiple related case studies of milk evaporator plants, producing a set of common retrofit solutions. These include replacing thermal vapour recompression (TVR) and/or direct steam injection with MVR systems, which were shown to deliver lower levelised costs of heat compared with reference boiler-based designs. The culmination of the research is a unified PI&E methodology that combines digital twins, rigorous thermodynamic analysis, and practical integration strategies. The results show that electrification of milk evaporation systems can be achieved in both new and existing plants with significant efficiency gains and competitive economics. PI&E has been tested across multiple platforms: Aspen HYSYS, DWSIM and the Ahuora Digital Twin Platform, powered by IDAES – proving to be a platform-agnostic, yet digitalisation-centred, methodology. Although developed and applied in the context of New Zealand’s dairy sector, the methods and insights are broadly transferable to other low- to medium-temperature process industries, offering a robust and scalable pathway to accelerate industrial decarbonisation.
Valorisation of waste mussel shells and harakeke fibres for enhanced performance in polypropylene composites
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Xu, Jing; Mucalo, Michael R.; Pickering, Kim L.
This doctoral research develops high-performance, environmentally sustainable polypropylene (PP) composites by valorising low-value biogenic waste. Within a Circular Economy framework, it addresses challenges in plastic sustainability and the need for bio-based alternatives by utilising mussel shells (MS), an aquaculture by-product, and harakeke fibres (HF, Phormium tenax), derived from agricultural waste, as reinforcing materials. Through systematic characterisation, surface modification, filler hybridisation, and multi-scale evaluation, this study demonstrates the successful transformation of these biogenic low-value resources into functional reinforcements for PP. The structural and surface properties of MS-derived fillers were first investigated, focusing on functionalization with a mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) coating. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SS-NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed PDA formation, revealing its indole/indoline units and quinonoid groups. X-ray diffraction (XRD), SS-NMR, and FTIR showed that MS contains calcite and aragonite phases, which remain intact after coating. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the thermal stability of MS, slightly improved by PDA, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) verified successful coating deposition on MS fillers via nitrogen-containing groups. Surface energy analysis revealed that PDA coating increased MS filler hydrophilicity, whereas maleic anhydridegrafted polypropylene (MAPP) treatment particularly when combined with PDA enhanced filler hydrophobicity, establishing PDA/MAPP co-modification as an effective strategy to improve filler interaction with the hydrophobic PP matrix. Polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced with pristine, maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP)-modified, and PDA/MAPP co-modified mussel shell (MS) fillers were systematically compared with neat PP to assess thermal and mechanical performance. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed improved thermal stability across all composites, most notably with PDA/MAPP-MS. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed that MAPP and PDA/MAPP surface treatments enhanced nucleation and crystallinity, promoting -crystal formation in the PP matrix. Mechanical testing showed that unmodified MS reduced tensile and flexural strength, an effect mitigated by MAPP modification. PDA/MAPP co-modification yielded the greatest improvements, with tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus all significantly enhanced at 40 wt.% loading. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), creep recovery, and melt rheology further supported the advantages of PDA/MAPP comodification, consistent with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of improved interfacial bonding. The study further explored hybrid reinforcements combining MS with HF. Crystalline structure analysis showed both fillers acted as nucleating agents, with hybrid systems producing higher crystallinity than neat PP. XRD confirmed the co-existence of - and -crystals. Composites with 10% MAPP-MS/30% HF and 10% PDA/MAPP-MS/30% HF showed the highest -phase content (17.32% and 16.71%, respectively), enhancing toughness and elongation while retaining strength and stiffness. SEM backscattered electron (BSE) analysis confirmed improved fibre matrix adhesion and polymer bridging, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping showed uniform filler distribution. These hybrid systems outperformed single-filler composites, with 10% MAPP-MS/30% HF achieving a 48% increase in tensile strength over neat PP. DMA confirmed a higher storage modulus, improved energy dissipation, and better adhesion. Creep-recovery tests demonstrated greater dimensional stability, particularly for the 10% PDA/MAPP-MS/30% HF system. Melt rheology behaviour suggested the formation of a hybrid filler network that further restricts chain mobility. Finally, composites with 5% PDA/MAPP-MS fillers demonstrated superior UV stability. After 1,000 hours of accelerated weathering, neat PP exhibited cracking, roughening, and discolouration, while PDA/MAPP-MS composites retained smooth, intact surfaces. FTIR confirmed their lowest carbonyl index increase, reflecting suppressed photo-oxidative degradation. XRD and DSC showed a stable crystalline structure, and mechanical testing revealed only a 15.6% tensile strength loss, compared to 62% for neat PP. DMA further confirmed superior viscoelastic stability. These results indicate dual protection: MS act as UV shield, while PDA scavenges free radicals to delay degradation. Overall, this research establishes mussel shell and harakeke fibre as sustainable, high-performance reinforcements for PP. PDA/MAPP co-modification and hybridisation strategies optimise filler matrix interactions, yielding composites with enhanced thermal, mechanical, rheological, and weathering properties. These findings highlight the potential of low-value biogenic fillers for sustainable, durable, and environmentally resilient composites.
Reviving cultural connections and the need to advocate for cultural reports under section 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002 for reimagining whanaungatanga
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Werahiko, Katrina; Daya-Winterbottom , Trevor; Toki , Valmaine
This thesis critically questions whether the incorporation of whanaungatanga can lead to a more equitable New Zealand criminal justice system for Māori. Associated with this aim, this thesis explores how a better understanding of whanaungatanga could improve the prison system and the current Māori overrepresentation in it. The thesis argues that an enhanced understanding of whanaungatanga and its utilisation under s 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002 can reframe interpretation of and response to Māori prisoner statistics. Furthermore, it is suggested that whanaungatanga can offer a Te Ao Māori framework that can complement a Western legal paradigm to provide a basis for holistic and more equitable reasoning within the criminal justice system. The research addresses the broader historical context in which colonial constructs have impacted traditional Māori legal norms such as tīkanga and whanaungatanga. The historical context offers a perspective for examining the relationships between Māori and colonial settler laws, shedding light on the current social inequalities. The research aims to investigate the reasons for Māori over-representation in the New Zealand prison system and suggests alternative pathways for transformative, equitable outcomes. As a way forward, in contrast to the current approaches that reference tīkanga in different legal disciplines, this research aims to establish common ground for whanaungatanga and its acceptance in society and the courts. In investigating the potential role of whanaungatanga in s 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002, this study reviews literature on whanaungatanga and compares it with traditional knowledge of whanaungatanga as a legal norm, value system and range of practices. Further, the literature examines challenges associated with the application of tīkanga in sentencing and clarifies the meaning of whanaungatanga and its potential employment in sentencing decisions. The study employs three data sets. The first data set consists of population census surveys of the 19th century. I present this data in Te Ūpoko Tuawhā/Chapter Four. The data is compared with Māori prison population statistics in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The comparative analysis of this data provides an empirical foundation for examining differences and similarities between data sets, as well as identifying problematic trends. This data establishes the foundation for investigating some early New Zealand trials and the systemic deprivation experienced by Māori, discussed in Te Ūpoko Tuarima/Chapter Five. The second set of data comprises records of three categories: cases when s 27 cultural reports are applied; cases when cultural reports are considered but not applied; and cases when cultural reports are not considered. The qualitative analysis in Te Ūpoko Tuaono/Chapter Six of the differences in sentencing decisions for similar offences raises concerns about social justice. The third data set is based on interviews with judges which were designed to investigate the factors influencing sentencing decisions (Te Ūpoko Tuawhitu/Chapter Seven). Thematic analysis of this data provided the basis for identifying patterns and recommendations for improvements. The research findings revealed that whanaungatanga plays a significant role in s 27 cultural reports compared with pre-sentence reports that do not provide judges with causative material. Although s 27 cultural reports focussed on having cultural speakers, cultural reports were argued by participants to be more reliable because they are a permanent record. Furthermore, defendants could read their reports and sometimes find out their whakapapa (genealogical ties) for the first time. Research findings suggest that society could understand whanaungatanga easily because the process is already happening in the courts and the communities. The study also found that a breach of the right to a fair trial, if impacted by the court’s reluctance to accept a s 27 cultural report, would lead to a criminal case review pending legal aid assistance. A further finding was that the sentencing discrepancies for similar offences raise concerns about recidivism, remand prisoners, and intergenerational trauma affecting children was more prevalent amongst low socio-economic whānau families. The study found that debate about the relative fiscal costs of accommodating prisoners and money spent on cultural reports bypasses the main issue. Māori over-representation in the prisons will not be reduced unless society acknowledges a consistent application of whanaungatanga as a transformative approach to changing the status quo.

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