Higher Degree Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/2223

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A quality framework for infrastructure as code in the modern DevSecOps era
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Konala, Pandu; Kumar, Vimal; Bainbridge, David; Haseeb, Junaid
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is transforming how organisations deploy and manage their infrastructure through version-controlled scripts. While this creates opportunities for automation, it also introduces quality and security concerns. Many IaC analysis tools focus on one or two platforms and rely on pattern-based detection, but do not take advantage of the information contained within repository metadata and the relationships between repositories. A survey of current IaC analysis tools reveals shortcomings in their ability to conduct comprehensive quality assessments, allowing security smells to propagate through dependency chains and code reuse patterns without being identified. This thesis presents a systematic process for assessing the quality of IaC scripts. It introduces a nine-category framework that extends the principles of traditional software quality to infrastructure code. The categories include aspects such as metadata and platform-specific characteristics that were not addressed in previous works. This work also utilises policy-based weighted mechanisms to allow organisations to place their own emphasis on the various categories when conducting assessments. Building on this framework, the research assesses security smells by utilising metadata-assisted methods for detecting vulnerabilities in the supply chain of dependencies. Our findings show that vulnerable dependency chains affect multiple downstream repositories. For platforms that lack fork metadata, similarity-based methods are employed to identify the paths through which security smells diffuse. Clone detection proved effective at tracing these diffusion paths across such platforms. This work also demonstrates the applicability of the framework to the evaluation of AI-generated infrastructure code. The results showed that 15 out of the 16 tested AI models produced code that scored below human-written repositories. However, structured prompts with quality and compliance integration enabled the top-performing AI models to produce code that exceeded human-written implementations in meeting industry benchmarks for security. Together, these findings support the usefulness of the proposed framework for the integration of quality assurance into modern DevSecOps workflow practices.
Sulfur metabolism in Neisseria gonorrhoeae
(The University of Waikato, 2026) van Niekerk, Stacy; Hicks, Joanna
Elucidating essential pathways for the pathogenicity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is crucial for the discovery of novel therapeutics required to combat the threat of extensively drug-resistant gonorrhoeae. Sulfur metabolic pathways have been proposed as attractive targets as they are absent in mammals, and cysteine, the central node in sulfur metabolism, is critical to a broad range of cellular functions. Accordingly, the acquisition of sulfur sources to fulfil cysteine requirements is a crucial determinant of bacterial survival. Compared to our understanding of how N. gonorrhoeae acquires essential nutrients such as carbon, zinc, and iron, sulfur acquisition and metabolism remain poorly defined. Here, we investigate the metabolic flexibility of N. gonorrhoeae with respect to sulfur acquisition and examine how the gonococcus adapts to conditions of sulfur limitation. By integrating bioinformatic analyses with experimental growth data and enzyme kinetic assays, we mapped the sulfur metabolic network in N. gonorrhoeae. We confirm that direct acquisition of cystine (and cysteine) supports growth and further demonstrate that cystine uptake is essential for colonization of epithelial cells under aerobic conditions. In the absence of cysteine, N. gonorrhoeae exhibits a limited capacity to utilize alternative sulfur sources, with only glutathione supporting proliferation, albeit inefficiently, via an unidentified mechanism. Growth under these conditions was restored by further supplementation with thiosulfate or methionine, indicating that glutathione utilization is constrained by downstream metabolic limitations, likely associated with inefficient cysteine liberation and restricted hydrogen sulfide availability required for methionine biosynthesis. This limited capacity to utilize alternative sulfur acquisition strategies is notable given that cysteine availability within the host is tightly regulated and maintained at low concentrations. Transcriptomic analyses across cysteine-independent growth conditions revealed the sulfur landscape influences transcriptional responses in a metabolite specific manner. More specifically, in response to sulfur starvation, N. gonorrhoeae does not appear to overcome this limitation through diverse acquisition strategies but instead adjusts cellular processes to compensate for inefficient sulfur acquisition via resource reallocation, where possible. By defining the sulfur metabolic network and uncovering the transcriptional responses, we conclude that N. gonorrhoeae exhibits metabolic inflexibility when its preferred substrate, cysteine, is unavailable, with proliferation supported by condition-specific adaptive responses rather than broad metabolic versatility. These findings provide valuable insights into how the gonococcus adapts to nutrient scarcity and advances our understanding of the fundamental physiology of this host-adapted pathogen.
Redesigning files to embed concise provenance metadata
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Phua, Thye Way; Kumar, Vimal; Bainbridge, David
Data provenance is essential for validating the origin, history, and trustworthiness of information. However, despite extensive research, provenance systems have seen limited mainstream adoption. This thesis argues that this gap stems from two fundamental deficiencies: (i) the lack of temporal awareness in existing models and (ii) the detachment of provenance metadata from the primary data. Current systems often treat versioning as symbolic markers rather than capturing the content of change, and they store metadata in centralised repositories that are prone to desynchronisation. To address these challenges, this research proposes a framework that integrates temporal data evolution with embedded provenance. The thesis posits that provenance must be integral to the data artefact itself to ensure portability and integrity. A prototype system was developed using a FUSE-based filesystem, employing delta encoding to capture fine-grained changes and a custom block-based format to embed provenance metadata and version histories directly within files. This architecture ensures that lineage information remains inseparable from the data it describes. The system was evaluated through microbenchmarks and a macrobenchmark involving a full Linux kernel compilation. The evaluation confirms that the delta-based storage model is efficient, achieving a sixty-fold reduction in space compared to full snapshot retention. Historical state reconstruction incurs linear overhead relative to version depth, remaining manageable for typical file lifespans. Although the prototype introduces a performance overhead of approximately 7.4% during intensive workloads, it successfully validates the feasibility of the approach. The findings demonstrate that integrating temporal awareness with embedded metadata significantly improves the accuracy and completeness of provenance tracking, offering a robust foundation for accountability in dynamic environments.
He kai kei aku ringā (there is food at the end of my hands): Developmental transdisciplinary research to inform co-management of Tuangi in Ōhiwa Harbour
(The University of Waikato, 2026-10-21) Reihana, Kiri; Paul-Burke, Kura; Ellis, Joanne I.; Bulmer, Richard H.; McGowan, Pā (Robert)
Indigenous Knowledges, traditions, practices and ways of being are increasingly present within the global marine conservation discourse. As long-standing intergenerational custodians of a large percentage of the earth’s natural areas, many Indigenous communities seek to play a central role in co-defining the issues, co-participating in the process and co-designing the solutions for their lands and water resources. The value and benefits of Indigenous-led conservation, knowledge creation and participation are exponentially expanding within scholarship. This research is located within Ōhiwa Harbour, an estuarine inlet in the Bay of Plenty, in the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The thesis explores historical and contemporary information of the identified taonga (sacred, treasured) species tuangi, or cockles, within Ōhiwa Harbour. The research was designed to identify relevant tools and technology to address the declines of the tuangi populations, and to assist iwi (tribes) and authorities in providing information for decision making over the shellfish beds. Finally, findings of the thesis produced species distribution models which assisted in understanding tuangi-preferential habitats within the estuary, and the development of rapid site-assessment techniques based on mātauranga Māori (Cultural knowledge system). This thesis uses a transdisciplinary mixed method approach inclusive of mātauranga Māori, marine sciences, and technology. This research is led by kaupapa Māori (a Māori way of being, seeing, and doing) informing and developing a Tīwaiwaka framework informed by multiple evidence-based approaches as a means of weaving multiple knowledge systems. To achieve this, the guiding framework and methodology emerged from the te ao Māori conservation movement Tīwaiwaka, which prioritises kaitiakitanga (active stewardship), unification and reciprocating co-existence with our natural environment. Results from the legislative review on marine governance highlighted historical colonial exclusionary policies, accelerated extractive practices and tools displacing Māori people and culture on the settlement of Aotearoa. The polarity of views from the two cultures set the backdrop of the ensuing misunderstandings over management and governance of the marine space, and all natural resources, within Aotearoa. Therefore, future aspirations herald a call for a paradigm shift from the existing extractive model to an inclusive sustainable marine model which maintains a “respectful” relationship with our oceans, inclusive of Māori values such as tikanga (customs and traditional values in a Māori context), rangatiratanga (self-determination, autonomy), kaitiakitanga, mana (authority, status, influence) and mauri, (divine spark, force or energy) to name a few. Results from the field studies showed that legal-sized tuangi have not been harvestable within Ōhiwa since the mid-1980s. There is an urgent need for integrated culturally responsive marine management actions. My study highlights the importance of the local traditional knowledge in identifying tohu (here I define tohu as a “observable cue,” an expression of mana, or mauri, communicated through the environment) for rapid broad-scale mapping techniques for habitat monitoring and assessment locations. These techniques can be scaled up and prioritise areas of interest within harbours, depending on species and/or objectives. The use of technology to interpret and analyse population dynamics confirmed Elders’ knowledge of the species and spaces within Ōhiwa Harbour. The Tīwaiwaka framework developed to address the declines of tuangi has provided an exemplar for the weaving together of multiple knowledges for shellfish management within Ōhiwa Harbour. This model of transdisciplinary estuarine and coastal regeneration, inclusive of Indigenous Knowledges such as mātauranga Māori, fulfils global conservation initiatives such as Article 8(j), of the Convention of Biodiversity, and the United Nations Decade of Oceans Science for sustainability, creating “the science we need for the ocean we want” as robust scientific-based solutions. Creating new knowledge through the weaving of mātauranga Māori, marine science and technology provides a pathway for transformative environmental change. The weaving of Indigenous Knowledge, ecological assessment and species distribution modelling generated new insights into tuangi populations and identified priority monitoring and restoration sites. The observational tohu identified are long standing environmental indicators that enabled rapid site assessment and the recognition of areas of significance. While tohu have long informed Māori environmental kaitiakitanga, this research formalised their application within contemporary conservation practice. More broadly, the Tīwaiwaka framework demonstrates a transferable Indigenous-led model for marine conservation, co-management and knowledge co-development that maintains the integrity of multiple knowledge systems while delivering culturally grounded, scientifically robust solutions for environmental governance and biodiversity conservation.
Understanding corrections officer safety in Aotearoa New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Taaka, Samantha; Polaschek, Devon L. L.
Working as a corrections officer can be challenging; in addition to navigating occupational hazards in a complex environment, corrections officers are also at risk of being verbally and physically assaulted by prisoners. As such, corrections officers report high rates of physical injury and report high levels of symptoms of psychological and stress-related disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD, burnout). Corrections officers undergo the necessary task of managing prisoners and ensuring their needs are met, while risking their own safety and wellbeing to do so. Previous research has established that characteristics of prisoners, of officers, and of the prison environment contribute to the safety and wellbeing of corrections officers; however, this research is not comprehensive because studies typically examine only one type of characteristic (e.g., only prisoner characteristics or only officer characteristics, but not both). Likewise, some research examines strategies to improve corrections officer wellbeing, but again, this research is fragmented and limited in the sense that it focuses primarily on physical wellbeing and omits the emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing of officers. Therefore, in this thesis, we sought to examine multiple factors of prison work that may decrease the safety of corrections officers and identify strategies that may increase corrections officer overall wellbeing. This thesis contains five studies that investigate what contributes to the safety of corrections officers in New Zealand prisons. The first study examined characteristics of prisoners that were predictive of violence against corrections officers at three levels of severity, using a database of 1,647 incidents of prisoner-to-officer assault. Prisoners who perpetrated serious violence against corrections officers were typically younger, higher security, gang affiliated and in directed segregation, compared to prisoners who perpetrated minor or moderate violence against corrections officers. In the second study, we extracted a subsample of incidents from the previous study to narratively analyse officers’ written reports of incidents of prisoner-to-officer assault to examine officer and situational characteristics that were predictive of violence at three levels of severity. Men were more commonly victims of serious violence compared to women, and some activities and locations in prisons (e.g., movements, prisoners’ cells) were predictive of serious violence against officers. The third study used interviews with 21 corrections officers and followed a grounded theory methodology to understand how corrections officers constructed their own safety in relation to their working relationships in prison. Corrections officers emphasised a necessity to develop positive working relationships with prisoners and colleagues to maintain their safety, and did so by being respectful and honest, and by using effective communication skills. The fourth study utilised the same data and methodology as study three to examine the strategies that officers used to keep safe while interacting with prisoners. Officers used some strategies consistently during their shift (e.g., alertness) and other strategies during specific interactions with prisoners (e.g., using physical measures during incidents of physical violence). Finally, in study five, we used the same data to capture how corrections officers perceived their emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing in relation to their work in prison. Officers described feeling stressed and emotionally exhausted due to their work in prison, which negatively impacted their personal lives outside of work. Taken together, the results of this thesis indicate that there are characteristics of prisoners, of officers, and of the prison environment itself that contribute to serious harm towards corrections officers. On the other hand, there are also strategies that corrections officers use to increase their safety at work including both security-focused strategies (e.g., physical control and restraint) and relational skills (e.g., using communication to build a rapport with prisoners). This thesis examined corrections officer safety from a holistic approach by understanding how multiple factors contribute to the overall wellbeing of officers, which establishes an empirical foundation for improving the safety and wellbeing of corrections officers in New Zealand.
'Ākono'anga Māori: Practices that enable education success for Cook Islands Māori learners
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Rota-Solomon, Tereapii Elinora; Petrie, Kirsten Culhane; Hemi, Keakaokawai Varner; Fa'avae, David Taufui Mikato
Within the context of education research, our stories as Cook Islands Māori living in Aotearoa New Zealand are rarely told from our own lived experiences, even more so in Tokoroa. I see this lack of representation as significant, given our migration from the 1950s onwards in search of a better life, as well as our contribution to the economic development of this country. Our experiences are often absorbed into broader Pasifika-Pacific narratives, which overlook our distinct ways of being and knowing, as well as our histories and aspirations. Being positioned under this umbrella further generalises our experiences, specific needs, and understandings of education success as defined by our own communities. This has significantly impacted on how we have experienced education, and what it has been to experience success. In this thesis, I investigate the practice traditions that have enabled education success for Cook Islands Māori students in Tokoroa. My aim was to understand how success is created by examining the conditions that shape students' experiences, relationships, and opportunities for learning. To do this, I draw on a theoretical framework grounded in 'Ākono'anga Māori (Cook Islands Māori way of life), bringing together Vā and the Theory of Practice Architectures to understand these conditions. I am guided by a Tivaivai methodology, which weaves together the stories, histories, and practices of Cook Islands Māori families in Tokoroa over time. Within this methodology, I use Patu Tuatua as the method to gather stories from participants, through culturally grounded ways of sharing knowledge. My exploration of education policy, curriculum, pedagogical practices, assessment practices, and definitions of success across four time periods, the pre-missionary period in the Cook Islands, the missionary period, the colonial period, and the period of migration to Aotearoa New Zealand, demonstrates that education success for Cook Islands Māori learners is contingent on four significant conditions. I found that our learners experience success when their aspirations and needs are reflected in education policy, their identities are visible in the curriculum, their ways of learning are supported through culturally relational and sustaining practices, and their progress is recognised through forms of measurement that reflect their strengths. I also found that the resilience of our learners enables them to continue to experience education success by remaining grounded in their practice traditions, despite enduring constraints within education. I argue that, in order to reverse the deficit positioning that continues to underserve Cook Islands Māori learners, schools need to recognise, support, and strengthen these practices if they are to create conditions where our learners succeed. I maintain that it is imperative for strong connections between home, Church, community, and the school to be sustained, as education success is enabled when sites of learning values the practices that collectively enable our learners to experience education success.
Growth and water use dynamics of New Zealand indigenous and exotic tree species in the Wairarapa – a case study
(The University of Waikato, 2026) West, Moari; Clearwater, Michael J.; Barbour, Margaret M.; Meason, Dean
Little is known about the effect of New Zealand indigenous tree species on the forest hydrological cycle and there are limited quantitative growth and transpiration data for New Zealand indigenous tree species, particularly in a plantation setting. This thesis aims to compare growth and transpiration responses of indigenous and exotic tree species to weather conditions in a plantation setting over a two-year study period (Year 1 = 21/06/2022-21/06/2023, Year 2 = 22/06/2023-21/06/2024). This thesis also aims to assess the suitability of electronic point dendrometers as alternatives to the widely used but expensive and invasive sap flow meters for estimating tree and forest level transpiration. To achieve our aims, eight study species were selected for this thesis including three indigenous Nothofagaceae species, Fuscospora fusca, F. solandri, and Lophozonia menziesii, two indigenous Podocarpaceae species, Podocarpus totara and Prumnopitys taxifolia, one exotic angiosperm species, Eucalyptus fastigata (Myrtaceae), and two exotic conifer species, Pinus radiata (Pinaceae) and Sequoia sempervirens (Cupressaceae). Rewanui Forest Park (Wairarapa region) was selected for this thesis as it is a rare example of a forestry trial including both indigenous and exotic species. Electronic point dendrometer measurements revealed that only one of the exotic study species, S. sempervirens, had a faster growth rate than the native species during the study period, despite the much larger size of the exotic species. The other two exotic species, E. fastigata and P. radiata, were limited by canopy closure and wet microsite conditions respectively. Modelling growing season duration using the Gompertz equation highlighted the role of species-traits and the impact of weather conditions on growth. For example, F. fusca and L. menziesii demonstrated high instantaneous growth rates but a short growing season duration, particularly under drier weather conditions, suggesting that these were the most climate sensitive of the study species. Notably, all study species were modelled to cease growing on the last day of Year 1 which was wetter than Year 2. This result suggests that all study species were able to continue growing at a rate within the model parameters until the winter solstice (21st June 2023), likely due to higher than normal rainfall in late summer and early autumn of Year 1. Differences in weather also affected the other dendrometer variables. Notably, one of the shrinkage variables, tree water deficit (TWD), was low in Year 1 but exhibited a large summer peak in Year 2 for all study species. Microsite conditions appeared to affect TWD. For example, the high TWD peak for E. fastigata was likely driven by dry microsite conditions, large tree size and high sap flux densities causing increased soil water depletion and stem shrinkage in this species. The large size and likely high leaf area of E. fastigata also appeared to drive higher rates of sap flux density compared to the indigenous species, as revealed by heat ratio method sap flow meter measurements. Larger stem sizes appeared to drive higher rates of total water use for all three of the exotic species compared to the indigenous species. The effects of weather and climate on sap flux density were generally species specific. For example, little sap flux density variation was explained by the climate variables for P. taxifolia, which consistently ranked low for all measured and calculated variables. Maximum daily shrinkage (MDS), emerged as the best overall dendrometer variable for predicting sap flux density, with higher correlation and prediction strength for most of the study species. However, under the drier conditions of Year 2, TWD emerged as a stronger predictor for some of the indigenous species, namely, F. solandri, L. menziesii, P. totara, and P. taxifolia. Most of these species were, in some way, restricted by soil water conditions. Fuscospora solandri had low soil volumetric water content at the study site, L. menziesii is considered to be naturally adapted to wetter conditions than at our study site, and P. totara had high competition for soil water due to high planting density at the study site. Including climate variables helped to improve prediction strength of the dendrometer variables across all species. Together these results highlight the role of microsite conditions, stem size, leaf area, and species-traits on the impacts of trees on components of the forest hydrological cycle such as transpiration. These results also highlight the importance of species selection for afforestation projects. This work advances our understanding of water use and growth dynamics of New Zealand indigenous species that have been previously understudied, and how those dynamics compare to exotic plantation tree species.
Study on the formation mechanisms of core–shell structures and their influence on the properties of Ni-Co-Al-Ti-based high-entropy intermetallic
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Liu, Junqi; Yang, Fei
The advancement of aerospace technology imposes increasingly stringent requirements on the mechanical properties of structural materials at both room and elevated temperatures. Intermetallic compounds have attracted considerable attention due to their excellent specific strength and high-temperature performance. However, their engineering applications are persistently constrained by issues such as room-temperature brittleness or insufficient high-temperature strength. Inspired by the concept of high-entropy design, this study employs a sublattice high-entropy alloying strategy to improve the mechanical properties of conventional intermetallic compounds, developing Ni-Co-Al-Ti-based high-entropy intermetallics with a core–shell structure that exhibit favorable room-temperature ductility. Through further compositional tuning, the core–shell structure evolves toward multi-scale characteristics, achieving synergistic enhancement of strength and ductility. This work reveals the formation mechanism of the multi-scale core–shell structure and its influence on room-temperature mechanical properties, while also elucidating the strengthening–ductilization mechanism of the multi-scale core–shell structured high-entropy intermetallics. In addition, the mechanical properties over a wide temperature range are investigated, revealing the embrittlement at intermediate temperature and an anomalous yield effect, along with the corresponding microscopic mechanisms. First, through thermodynamic and solidification analyses, the effect of Co addition on the Ni(75-x)CoxAl8.33Si8.33Ti8.34 series alloys is studied. The results show that Co addition favors the stable formation of an L12/FCC dual-phase structure. Further microstructural characterization reveals that, at a Co content of 25 at.%, a dual-phase core–shell structure consisting of ordered L12 cores and disordered FCC shells forms within the grains. Based on these observations, the mechanism by which Co addition promotes the formation of the core–shell structure is analyzed. On the one hand, Co addition induces the formation of the FCC phase and promotes the precipitation of the L12 phase, providing the phase-structural basis for the core–shell structure. On the other hand, it maintains a low L12/FCC interfacial energy, supplying an stable interfacial condition for core–shell formation. Mechanical testing indicates that the formation of this structure effectively improves the room-temperature ductility of the alloy. The Ni25Co25Al8.33Si8.33Ti8.34 alloy exhibits a yield strength of approximately 450 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of about 650 MPa, and a plastic elongation of roughly 10%. Building upon the alloy in which the core–shell structure has already been established, compositional adjustments are performed to promote the development of the core–shell structure toward multi-scale features. The addition of Ta induces the formation of a dual-scale core–shell structure with micron- and submicron- scale in the Ni50Co25Al7Ti7Ta1.5Cr9.5 alloy, effectively enhancing the room-temperature strength. This alloy shows a yield strength of about 800 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of approximately 1000 MPa, and a plastic strain of about 8%. Further increasing the Al/Ti ratio promotes the formation of a multi-scale core–shell structure comprising micron-scale, submicron-scale, and nanoscale in the Ni50Co25AlxTi(14-x)Ta1.5Cr9.5 alloys, achieving a synergistic improvement in room-temperature strength and ductility. Among them, the Ni50Co25Al9Ti5Ta1.5Cr9.5 alloy exhibits a yield strength of approximately 1000 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of about 1250 MPa, and a plastic strain of roughly 12.5%. The formation mechanism of the multi-scale core–shell structure can be summarized as follows: Ta addition exacerbates compositional segregation at grain boundaries, inducing the formation of micron-scale core–shell structure. Meanwhile, an increased Al/Ti ratio enhances the sluggish diffusion effect, promoting the precipitation of submicron-scale and nanoscale core–shell structures. Furthermore, Ni50Co25Al9Ti5Ta1.5Cr9.5 alloy with multi-scale core–shell structure is selected as the research object. The evolution of dislocation substructures during room-temperature deformation was systematically characterized, revealing that the room-temperature deformation mechanism of this alloy is synergistically governed by superlattice intrinsic/extrinsic stacking faults, stacking faults, Lomer-Cottrell locks, dislocation forests, and dislocation walls.. On this basis, combined with theoretical calculations, the strengthening–ductilization mechanism is thoroughly elucidated. The results indicate that the high strength of the alloy mainly originates from precipitation strengthening arising from the high-volume-fraction ordered L12 cores and hetero-deformation-induced strengthening caused by the multi-scale core–shell structure, while the favorable ductility is attributed to continuous (FCC+nanoscale L12) dislocation motion channels and hetero-deformation-induced strain hardening. In addition, the highly coherent core–shell interfaces and serrated grain boundaries jointly promote cooperative deformation, enabling the material to achieve an excellent combination of strength and ductility at room temperature. Subsequently, the microstructural stability and mechanical properties of the Ni50Co25Al9Ti5Ta1.5Cr9.5 alloy at 800 ℃ are investigated, revealing a good thermal stability and relatively high yield strength, but with almost zero plastic elongation. Vacuum comparative tensile tests indicate that this intermediate-temperature embrittlement originates from grain-boundary weakening caused by oxygen penetration and stress concentration induced by grain-boundary sliding. By increasing the Cr content to 20 at.%, discontinuous α-Cr phases and small-scale core–shell structures are induced to form at grain boundaries, which effectively hinder oxygen diffusion and restore the 800 ℃ plastic elongation to about 5%, thereby mitigating the embrittlement issue at intermediate temperature. In addition, the mechanical properties of the high-Cr alloy over a wide temperature range from 25 to 1000 ℃ are evaluated. The results show that the yield strength first increases and then decreases with rising temperature, reaching a peak value of about 920 MPa at 800 ℃, exhibiting a clear anomalous yield effect. TEM characterization reveals that this effect is attributable to the transition of the deformation mechanism to anti-phase boundary shearing at elevated temperatures, as well as the formation of Kear-Wilsdorf locks and Lomer-Cottrell locks.
Developing effective mentoring relationships for early childhood education teachers in Kupang, Indonesia: A bioecological perspective
(The University of Waikato, 2026-09-30) Suwarningsih, Dwi Purwestri Sri; Morrison , Michele; Clarkin-Phillips, Jeanette
Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s evolving ecological and bioecological theory, this doctoral study examines how mentoring relationships shape the professional learning of early childhood education (ECE) teachers in a decentralised, resource-constrained context in Kupang District, eastern Indonesia. While early ecological formulations (Phase I) emphasised nested environmental systems, and later refinements (Phase II) foregrounded reciprocal interaction, Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) mature bioecological model (Phase III) positioned proximal processes as the primary mechanisms of human development operating across the Process–Person–Context–Time (PPCT) framework. Drawing on this theoretical progression, the study conceptualises mentoring not as a discrete intervention but as a sustained developmental process embedded within multilevel systems. Adopting a constructivist-interpretive paradigm, the research employed a qualitative instrumental case study design. Data were generated through online surveys, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis involving teachers, mentors, district officials, national policymakers, and development partners engaged in the Holistic-Integrative Early Childhood Development (HI-ECD) programme. Guided by the PPCT model, analysis explored how mentoring functioned as a proximal process shaped by individual dispositions, relational dynamics, institutional structures, cultural norms, and shifting policy conditions over time. The findings demonstrate that mentoring was most effective when characterised by sustained, reciprocal dialogue, modelling of classroom practices, and reflective feedback grounded in trust and mutual commitment. Teachers’ professional confidence, pedagogical decision-making, and identity formation were strengthened when mentoring relationships were consistent and relationally secure. However, mentoring outcomes were not determined solely by interpersonal quality. Exosystem and macrosystem influences, including leadership capacity, decentralised governance arrangements, donor transitions, cultural expectations of hierarchy, and fluctuating funding priorities, significantly shaped the continuity and sustainability of mentoring. Over time, mentoring contributed to gradual shifts from teacher-centred to child-centred pedagogy, yet these transformations remained vulnerable to systemic disruption. The study advances three key contributions. First, it reconceptualises mentoring as a bioecological developmental process, demonstrating how professional learning emerges from sustained proximal interactions embedded within layered policy and cultural ecologies. Second, it refines the application of Bronfenbrenner’s Phase III bioecological model in educational research by illustrating how mentoring operates simultaneously across micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chronosystem dimensions. Third, it extends the scholarship on mentoring in Global South contexts by analysing how donor-supported initiatives intersect with decentralised governance structures to influence sustainability and teacher professional identity. The thesis concludes that strengthening ECE mentoring in Indonesia requires systemic coherence across relational, institutional, and policy dimensions. Sustainable mentoring depends not only on high-quality interpersonal processes but also on alignment across systems and continuity over time. These findings offer implications for policymakers, development partners, and educational leaders seeking to embed context-responsive mentoring within decentralised education systems and to strengthen the professionalisation of the early childhood workforce.
The limits to corporate social responsibility
(The University of Waikato, 2026-09-29) Pagani, John; Barton, Barry; Alvarez-Jimenez, Alberto
This thesis asks what limits New Zealand law places on the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It asks how far directors may go with shareholders’ funds, how they should choose between competing social and environmental purposes, and when shareholders or stakeholders can hold them to account. I conclude that CSR is concerned with outcomes for the firm rather than for society. New Zealand law adopts neither profit maximisation nor stakeholder theories of social responsibility. The entity primacy model means that the most important limit on CSR is the duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company. Stakeholder interests may be considered to the extent that they are instrumental to the company’s success. A firm may voluntarily pursue wider social and environmental stakeholder interests at cost to the value of the firm when its constitution or business context allows. Social norms and community expectations form part of directors’ duty to act in the company’s best interests. I show that stakeholders and their interests cannot be adequately identified. One consequence is that accountability for decisions and for outcomes may be reduced when stakeholder interests are considered. If a recent amendment to directors’ duties allows discretion to sacrifice firm value for undefined social outcomes, then corporate value will be affected even if the discretion is never exercised. I analyse theories that argue CSR is largely presentational and alternatively that existing legal tools can be used to make social responsibility commitments effective. By comparing those theories to examples of CSR instruments, I find support for both theories. CSR cannot be defined with sufficient precision to measure its effectiveness. Therefore, CSR cannot be shown to produce better social outcomes than alternative models such as regulation, and claims that investors can ‘do well by doing good’ cannot be supported. Stakeholders cannot use remedies in the Companies Act 1993, but anti-social behaviour may be reviewable and shareholders have remedies for decisions that are not rationally connected to the purpose of the business.
The space between us: Researching student and teacher understandings of significant and influential student-teacher relationships
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Jack, Darren; Flanagan, Paul G.; Edwards, Frances; Taylor, Simon
A growing body of literature reveals that all people, especially the young, need to experience relationships that promote safety, trust, belonging and connectedness to other humans, in order to develop and reach their potential. Particularly for students holding negative self-constructs or lacking confidence within school contexts, a caring teacher may represent the single most influential relationship available to a young person at that time. Research links the development of significant and influential student–teacher relationships with experiences of student success, the development of positive self-beliefs and improved wellbeing. Despite this, the New Zealand Ministry of Education make little reference to student–teacher relationships (significant or otherwise) within their latest Strategic Intentions, prioritising instead, improved attendance, achievement and system stewardship. At a time when New Zealand has been ranked last out of 36 OECD countries for overall child mental health, a clear gap has emerged between the educational intent of the Government and the social and emotional needs of the students in this country. Within an interpretative phenomenological framework this study used semi-structured individual and focus group interviews to explore the lived experiences of being in significant and influential student–teacher relationships (STRs) for six Year 13 students and four secondary school teachers, in the lower South Island of New Zealand. The study also considered the influence that such connections had on the development of student self-beliefs and their experiences of competence and self-worth. Connections between STRs and an ethic of care in education was also explored. Characteristics of STRs described by participants fell within two key areas. The first area described the importance of authentic connections between students and their significant teachers. These were demonstrated by students feeling noticed, the exchange of meaningful dialogue, the provision of teacher time and student experiences of unconditional teacher acceptance. The second key area related to the establishment of relational equity within the STR. This was interpreted through the co-construction of student–teacher connections, teacher role flexibility and overarching student experiences of safety and trust. Participants in this study also presented compelling evidence that STRs positively influenced student self-beliefs and promoted better academic, socio-emotional and wellbeing outcomes. All students participating in this research reported significant and positive personal growth from the formations of their STR. The Space Within model, developed from this study, is offered as one possible interpretation of how student self-beliefs may be influenced by significant teacher relationships. A further finding from this study suggested that the emotional labour required of teachers in maintaining significant student connections without systemic support, occurred at the expense of that teacher’s own wellbeing, raising concerns regarding the sustainability of teachers supporting students in this way. This thesis provides a comprehensive and nuanced view of relationships considered significant and influential to students at the conclusion of their secondary school experience. It raises implications for both teachers and school leadership. Recommendations from this study encourage the provision of teacher professional development and resourcing to support and maintain STRs in schools.
Music and science: Improving student engagement through art and electronics
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Quimelli, Christian de Sá; Dean, Bronya; Cheng, Maurice M. W.
This thesis investigates how interdisciplinary, hands-on learning experiences using the Theremin can support student engagement, collaboration, and inclusion in a Brazilian public school. Motivated by post-pandemic disengagement, fragmented curricula, and fragile peer relations, the study implemented a fourteen-week series of workshops in which students aged 13–15 explored, built, and performed with Theremins across science and arts lessons. The research adopted a qualitative case study design informed by constructivist grounded theory. Data were generated through pre- and post-intervention interviews with science and arts teachers, focus groups with all four Year 8 classes, and a reflective research journal. Findings show that, for many students, the project contributed to a shift from isolated, on-task behaviour to more organic forms of group work. Make–test cycles, the need to share partial knowledge of the build process, and the ERA arc (Experience → Represent → Apply) encouraged help-seeking, peer explanation, and collective problem-solving. Some students who were previously described as disaffected or disruptive repositioned themselves as competent helpers and co-constructors of the instrument. Social and emotional bonds, practical relevance, and opportunities for creative expression were central to these changes, especially when the artefact travelled between school and home. This thesis makes an original contribution by specifying how task design and the Theremin’s unique affordances worked together to support engagement and peer interaction in this context, and by deriving design principles for low-cost, artefact-based STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) interventions. The Theremin’s affordances carried much of this work: its direct gesture → sound correspondence and visible hand motion made negotiation audible and visible, supporting imitation, turn-taking, and dialogue. At the same time, the study shows that a single STEAM project cannot offset structural barriers. Large classes, policies focused on numbers, socioeconomic hardship, and experiences of mistreatment continued to shape how far engagement could be sustained and for whom. The thesis argues that low-cost, artefact-based STEAM interventions such as this Theremin project can inform design principles for supporting multiple dimensions of engagement and peer interaction, while also making visible the systemic conditions that limit their reach.
The central role of entrepreneurial identity in shaping opportunity evaluation and opportunity development
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Almasri, Omar Radwan; Gibb, Jenny; Sunyer, Albert
Entrepreneurial opportunities drive both venture creation and business performance, yet research has mostly studied opportunity recognition and exploitation while placing less concentration on the ways that assess and advance business opportunities. Moreover, although entrepreneurial identity has been identified as a key psychological driver of entrepreneurial behavior, little is known about how its distinct dimensions shape opportunity-related outcomes, particularly within resource-constrained and emerging economy contexts. While entrepreneurial identity is inherently motivational, it does not in itself explain how entrepreneurs regulate emotionladen judgments during opportunity evaluation and development. Entrepreneurial identity provides motivational direction, yet opportunity evaluation and development unfold in emotionally charged contexts characterised by uncertainty, risk, and ambiguity. Nevertheless, existing research has broadly conceptualized emotional intelligence as an immediate predictor of its antecedents, with less considering its theoretically significant role as a moderator of the way in which motivations grounded in identity are transformed into evaluative judgments and developmental actions. With the aim of addressing the identified gaps, this thesis explores the impact of entrepreneurial identity salience and centrality on opportunity evaluation and development, and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence on these relationships. Drawing on role identity theory and the entrepreneurial identity literature, this research conceptualises entrepreneurial identity as a multidimensional construct and advances a processoriented view of opportunity evaluation and development. The objective of this thesis is to shed light on how different aspects of entrepreneurial identity shape opportunity evaluation and development, as well as emotional intelligence as a moderating factor that shapes the expression of identity-driven motivation in challenging emotional contexts of entrepreneurship. A survey method is used to investigate 344 founder entrepreneurs in Jordan, where Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with confirmatory factor analysis is employed to verify the proposed models. For moderation effects, Z-standardized interaction terms in the SEM approach are used to ensure robustness and comparability of models. The results indicate that entrepreneurial identity salience and entrepreneurial identity centrality have different and differential effects on opportunity evaluation and opportunity development. Entrepreneurial identity salience is found to positively affect opportunity evaluation and opportunity development, and emotional intelligence plays a moderating role in these relationships in subtle ways. Emotional intelligence reduces the effect of identity salience on opportunity evaluation and increases its effect on opportunity development, implying that the effect of identity salience on opportunity development becomes less impulsive and more emotionally driven. Entrepreneurial identity centrality exhibits a strong positive relationship with opportunity evaluation, which is significantly reinforced by emotional intelligence. In contrast, emotional intelligence does not moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial identity centrality and opportunity development, suggesting that highly central identities may rely more on intrinsic commitment than on emotional regulation to sustain development activities. This thesis makes several important contributions. Theoretically, it contributes to the research on entrepreneurial identity by disentangling the concepts of salience and centrality and making an explicit connection to opportunity evaluation and development, rather than just opportunity recognition. Empirically, it provides evidence from an underexplored emerging economy context, highlighting the contingent role of emotional intelligence in identity– opportunity processes. Practically, the findings provide guidance for entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers interested in promoting more reflective opportunity evaluations and continuous opportunity development to create programs that improve their decision-making skills through a better understanding of challenges in their institutional environment.
The application of search heuristics to the single machine early/tardy scheduling problem
(The University of Waikato, 1995) James, Ross Jonathan William; Buchanan, John; Foulds, Les R.
Just-In-Time manufacturing aims to reduce waste within an organisation, by focusing on completing orders at the time requested by customers. Failure to complete orders at the time specified causes the organisation to incur additional costs. The Just-In-Time environment has introduced complexities for scheduling which have been modelled by the Single Machine, Early/Tardy Machine Scheduling problem. Research to date has concentrated on models with assumptions such as the use of a single due date for all jobs or restrictions on early/tardy penalties. This research uses a generalised model which makes no such assumptions. The use of three popular ‘intelligent’ search techniques: Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithms and Tabu Search are investigated as possible solution techniques. The properties of the common due date, early/tardy scheduling problem enable schedules to be defined from early/tardy job specifications - which state whether individual jobs are scheduled earlier or later than requested. Search techniques can then be applied using an early/tardy job specification solution space rather than the sequence of jobs solution space. Experiments found that the former was more efficient. The properties of the common due date problem are generalised for the distinct due date problem so that a distinct due date schedule can also be defined from early/tardy job specifications, however, this is only possible with the use of a heuristic. By incorporating an early/tardy heuristic into a search, the early/tardy job specification solution space can be used in a search technique. Two early/tardy heuristics are developed, one being a construction based heuristics, the other based on a principle of conflict resolution. Both of these heuristics, unlike any other heuristic for this problem, determine the sequence and timing of each job simultaneously. Experiments demonstrated that the early/tardy heuristics could find good quality solutions, however, search techniques based on the standard sequence of jobs solution space found better solutions. On larger sized problems, searches based on the early/tardy heuristic made large initial gains but little subsequent progress. Hybrid techniques which used both the heuristic solution space and the sequence of jobs solution space were found to produce the best results. Of the search techniques, Tabu Search was found to consistently produce better results than Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithms. Experiments also found that a Tabu Search with an early/tardy heuristic-based diversification strategy was the least sensitive to the starting point used by the search. A final experiment found that if an error in the earliness and tardiness penalties is within the range of -25% and 20%, there is unlikely to be a significant difference in the solution quality.
‘The management of quality’: New Zealand joins a global discourse for controlling work(ers)
(The University of Waikato, 1995) Humphries-Kil, M.; Bettison, David; Day, Patrick
The introduction to New Zealand of Japanese Management Practices and their later variations, here, collectively named ‘the management of quality’, is examined in this thesis. ‘The management of quality’ is seen as the most recent phase of a long transformation of the process of work control. ‘Work’, ‘workers’ and ‘managers’, regarded in this thesis as instances of social fabrication, are examined in their transformation from ‘serfs’ to ‘labour’ during early industrialization, and then to their contemporary re-shaping for future forms of global capitalism. While employees and ordinary citizens have had a measure of influence on the nature of these fabrications, it is argued that theorizers and designated experts have provided techniques which give employers significantly more impact. The thesis is divided into four parts. In Part One I draw on Foucault’s method of archaeology to examine the way in which capitalist practices came to be routinized in western countries, particular England and America. Part Two examines the Japanese transition to the predominance of capitalist practices and argues that a number of key features of their form of capitalism differ from those developed in the west. In particular, post World War Two Japanese developments in management techniques are examined as these were liberally drawn on in the effort to convert New Zealand workers and managers to new ways of organising work. This effort of conversion is the focus of Part Three. The introduction of ‘the management of quality’ was achieved through the skilled use of rhetoric that, to varying degrees, involved employers, managers and workers. I conclude in Part Four, that global capitalists, in their pursuit of ever decreasing costs and their desire to increase their mobility, benefit from the achievement of global standardization of work, workers and managers. ‘The management of quality’ has been used to advance greater control over apparently self-managing employees.
The challenge of culture change the cross-cultural adaptation of Hong Kong Chinese adolescent immigrants in New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 1995) Ho, Elsie; Hills, Michael; Ritchie, Jane; Farmer, Ruth
This study aimed to investigate changes in adaptive outcomes within Hong Kong Chinese adolescent immigrants from pre-migration to four years after arrival to New Zealand. The study used a quasi-longitudinal design, in which information was collected from one sample of respondents before migration and several samples of respondents after migration. Based on John Berry’s (1980) cross-cultural model, four cultural identity states were identified: assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization. Other adaptive outcomes were indicated by a variety of daily living activities and different modes of social-psychological functioning. A total of 283 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents in three phases of migration to New Zealand (pre-migration, less than two years in New Zealand, and between two and four years in New Zealand) participated in the study. Each respondent completed a booklet containing six questionnaires and a cultural identity scale. The study showed that respondents across cultural identity states and within migration phases differed significantly in adaptive outcomes. The proportion of respondents in the assimilation and integration states increased with length of migration, while those in the separation and marginalization states decreased. Across migration phases, respondents in the pre-migration phase differed significantly from the two post-migration groups in behaviours, preferences, attitudes and social support ratings; but the two post-migration groups did not differ significantly from each other. Across cultural identity states, assimilated, integrated, separated and marginalized respondents differed significantly from one another. Assimilated respondents manifested behaviours, preferences and attitudes indicating non-maintenance of ethnic culture; integrated respondents were characterized by both maintenance of ethnic culture and penetration into the host society; separated respondents were characterized by both maintenance of ethnic culture and a lack of penetration into the host society; whereas marginalized respondents showed a desire to penetrate into the host society but an inability to do so. Family separation, the desire to stay in the host society, causal attribution for cultural learning performance and social support, also influenced the respondents’ ability to adapt. Finally, the dynamic changes of the respondents’ cultural identity states over time were studied. Using the findings, seven paths of adaptation taken by a majority of Hong Kong Chinese adolescent immigrants in New Zealand are derived.
The masters of truth and justice? : TVNZ news-culture and ‘the discipline of the market’: 1989 - 1992
(The University of Waikato, 1994) Winter, Pahmi; Day, Patrick; Bettison, David
During the 1980s, New Zealand was among the first countries to translate the reemergent neoliberal ideology of economic rationalism into legislation and policy, thereby bringing about a radical shift in the ethos and organisation of many of New Zealand’s public corporations. Among these changes, New Zealand’s public television corporation became a ‘market-led’ state-owned commercial telecommunications enterprise. This study is concerned with the news-culture at Television New Zealand Ltd subsequent to the company’s restructuring into a cluster of profit-centres. It presents an ethnographic account of journalists’ practice and editorial control immediately after the company’s transition into a rationalised system oriented by quasi-privatised market transactions. It focuses on the ascendency of a particular scale of values within TVNZ news-culture as a populist ethos became institutionalized within the State-Owned Enterprise. TVNZ’s news executives hold that market forces and populist production values enhance their representation of the broad public interest. This thesis assesses the claim in the context of ideological, material and regulatory structures. I seek to demonstrate that the problem of conflicting goals, which beset TVNZ prior to its restructuring into a SOE, has not been resolved. The tensions and ambiguities engendered by conflicting commercial and social objectives remain. I argue that discrepancies between journalists’ professional norms and routine practices in TVNZ news-culture are concealed through the co-option of journalists’ professional ideologies into the wider market-oriented discourses of TVNZ corporate culture. Thus this thesis challenges the news executives’ claim that they effectively balance organisational and journalists’ professional goals. I contend, instead, that news executives compromise journalistic standards by defining them in relation to the market performance of the commodities they produce. In a wider frame it is indicated that the public debate about standards of TVNZ journalism focuses too exclusively on the programmes and their producers without addressing standards in terms of the statutory framework which requires TVNZ management to operate the company as a cash-cow for the state. In conclusion, I contend that the state has a responsibility to ensure the television network, set up for and largely paid for by New Zealand taxpayers, provides a public space for citizenly discourse.
Optimising line graph aspect ratio
(The University of Waikato, 1994) McEwan, James S.A.; Parsonson, B.S.; Guerin, Bernard
The aim of these studies was to find a way of selecting aspect ratios for line graphs so that they would provide the data analyst using graphical methods with the most information with the least distortion. If an ideal aspect ratio could be discovered it would help scientist make the best possible use of their research data. Cleveland and McGill (1987) theorised that the ideal aspect ratio could be selected by adjusting the aspect ratio until the line segments that make up a graph’s data path were positioned as close as possible to 45°. Cleveland and McGill went on to report a study which supported their theory. Experiments 1-3 here failed to replicate the results of Cleveland and McGill. Further analysis showed that the measure of accuracy used by Cleveland and McGill (1987) and in Experiments 1- 3 was corrupted by a confounding. This confounding was between response bias and accuracy, and as a result nothing could be concluded about Cleveland and McGill’s theory from the data. Given the problems with the previous accuracy measure, a new technique was required to test Cleveland and McGill’s theory of ideal aspect ratio. A “signal detection” style procedure called the “behavioural detection model” was used which produced separate measures of accuracy (log d) and response bias (log c). Using these measures it was found that, as the angle of a pair of lines increased from 0° to 45°, accuracy improved. For all angles greater than 45° accuracy was poor. These results partially support the theory of ideal aspect ratio suggested by Cleveland and McGill (1987). Like Cleveland and McGill’s theory it seems the data path should be positioned as close as possible to 45°; Unlike Cleveland and McGill’s theory the results here suggest that the data path should never be greater than 45°. These conclusions still need further testing to see if the results here apply to lines with negative slopes, as well as positive slopes, and how well the theory works in applied settings.
Freedom of expression and human dignity
(The University of Waikato, 1995) Harris, Bede Xavier Peter; Wilson, Margaret
The question of what limits should be placed on the right to freedom of expression is among the most intractable in human rights law. The central importance of the free flow of ideas to democracy means that tolerance of opposing views is a necessary precondition of that form of government. Freedom of expression also protects activities such as artistic endeavour, which further individual self-fulfilment. However, the need to protect freedom of expression must be balanced against the need to remedy the emotional harm it can cause. Hate speech (consisting of group defamation and insult) inflicts emotional injury, and thus impairs an important human interest. Some argue that sexually explicit material also has harmful effects. It is with the balance between freedom of expression, on the one hand, and the need to remedy harms, on the other, that this thesis is concerned. The thesis examines the strengths and weaknesses of both the existing approach to freedom of expression, which is founded primarily on the Millian argument from truth-seeking, and the equality-based approach, in terms of which hate speech and pornography are characterised as forms of discrimination. The conclusion reached is that neither strikes a satisfactory balance between expressive rights and other human interests. The suggested alternative is that the concept of human dignity be used both to justify freedom of expression and to set suitable limits to it. Whereas dignity, in the sense of autonomy or privacy, is known to Anglo-American jurisprudence, the concept of an actionable right to remedy offence to dignity is not. Here it is argued that the principles underlying the actio injuriarum of the Roman Dutch law of South Africa would be useful in setting limits to freedom of expression, as the actio provides a civil remedy for impairment of dignity, including impairments taking the form of insult and defamation. The thesis examines the compatibility of the principles of the actio with the interests served by freedom of expression, and concludes that where dignity is impaired by meaningless abuse, liability can be imposed without compromising such values, but that where harm takes the form of derogatory statements of fact, the correct balance between free speech and personality rights requires that the plaintiff bear the burden of proving the falsity of such statements. So far as pornography is concerned, it is suggested that where material depicts harmful conduct in such a manner as to incite those exposed to it to emulate what is depicted, publication should be seen as an impairment of the dignity of the individuals or groups against whom the incitement is directed. Publishers should be held civilly liable to such individuals or groups where it can be shown that the material depicts a combination of sex and violence in such a manner as to incite consumers. In accordance with general principles governing incitement, liability would arise irrespective of whether the incitees acted upon the incitement. However, liability could be imposed only where the conduct depicted was harmful in the sense that it was non-consensual, or was of a type to which the law should not recognise the validity of consent.
Directions at mid-life: Women theorise their lives
(The University of Waikato, 1995) Drewery, Wendy; Mitchell, David; Middleton, Sue
The concept of development as it is used in developmental psychology and human development requires re-examination in the light of post-Enlightenment doubts about the power of rationality and the possibility of progress. Increasing fragmentation of social life is also a concern raised by postmodern theorists. In this thesis I show how women who have taken primary responsibility for caring for children at midlife face a number of similar difficulties, particularly in relation to the “public” world. I argue that both liberal humanist psychology and liberal feminism are complicit in producing the impression held by many women, particularly women at home, that they are powerless social failures. The study uses a social constructionist framework to examine how five women develop and maintain a sense of themselves as responsible adults, as they negotiate their shifting multiple identities within different contexts of discursive and material constraint and possibility. The focus of analysis is on their decisions about responsible adulthood as they live them out in their personal lives. In each case, it was possible to identify a coherent, sustained sense of purpose or purposes which cut across the usually dichotomised categories of work and family. I argue that by their practical actions in everyday, unremarkable situations, these women demonstrate constrained but consciously ethical positions of concern for the direction of human development. Unlike feminist writers such as Carol Gilligan who suggest that care is a central preoccupation of women, I make no claim about the success of these particular efforts against some grand moral scale. Rather, I claim simply that the problems of plurality, relativism, and conflicting needs which are a feature of the “post-modem” world can begin to be addressed through respectful and care-full relationships at an interpersonal level, and that these women are consciously addressing such problems. The invisibility of women in the discourse of identity formation is seen as a product of the discourse, rather than as an effect of different socialisation, epistemology, or moral focus.

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