Higher Degree Theses

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

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Enhancing consumer health question answering systems through rhetorical structure theory-guided large language model
(The University of Waikato, 2026-03-23) Liu, Chen; Wang, William; Khan, Gohar
Consumer Health Question Answering (CHQA) systems have traditionally been designed around isolated capabilities—either factual medical correctness or empathetic support—rather than delivering integrated, multi-dimensional assistance. This separation fails to reflect the reality of consumer health consultations, where individuals typically express intertwined medical concerns, personal circumstances, and emotional distress within a single query. Existing CHQA architectures, often optimised for short, single-intent inputs, prioritise answer generation over question understanding and lack explicit mechanisms to jointly interpret informational and emotional support needs. Although Large Language Models (LLMs) have advanced the state of medical QA, most LLM-based systems still struggle to reconcile clinical reliability with context-sensitive empathy in complex consumer health questions. To address this gap, this study adopts a Design Science Research (DSR) paradigm and introduces Joint Medical–Emotional Question Answering (JMEQA) as a new task that jointly understand and response medical informational needs and emotional support needs in Consumer Health Questions (CHQs). Grounded in Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) and Appraisal Framework for Clinical Empathy (AFCE), the research proposes the Med-Emo CHQA architecture, a neural-symbolic unified, LLM-based system that augments answer generation with explicit question understanding. The architecture integrates hierarchical modules for question understanding and answer generation, unifying symbolic knowledge (an RST-based discourse structure tree that encodes intents, contexts, and rhetorical relations during the question-understanding stage) with neural network (LLM) via supervised fine-tuning and structured prompting. To support system training and evaluation, this study constructs CHQA-MedEmo, the first large-scale, multi-layer corpus of Chinese health consultation records. The corpus is annotated for both medical informational needs and emotional support needs, with explicit contextual spans and discourse relations. System performance is assessed through controlled experiments and an expert reader study using a human-centred evaluation framework that jointly measures accuracy, personalisation, and empathy, alongside latency. Experimental and reader-study results show that the proposed architecture outperforms baseline and ablated models in full medical-need coverage and empathetic alignment, while maintaining lower latency. Overall, this study advances the design of CHQA systems by demonstrating how symbolic, discourse-aware question understanding can be embedded into LLM workflows to produce responses that are simultaneously medically reliable, personally tailored, and emotionally supportive. The findings contribute design knowledge for Neural-Symbolic Integration (NSI), LLM-based CHQA in online health consultation settings and offer a scalable architectural paradigm for building complex, human-centred AI systems that balance informational rigour with affective care.
The charm of time: Generational comparison, memorable tourism experiences, and quality of life in visits to a world heritage site, Kulangsu
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Li, Yanhan; Ryan, Chris; Bakri, Marlini
In recent years, heritage tourism has seen a shift toward younger visitors, challenging the earlier view that it attracts primarily older visitors. How this emerging group of younger tourists differ from older tourists, and the reasons for such differences from a Chinese generational perspective, remain unclear. Whilst a significant literature exists on differences of personal histories the speed of technological change in China has been so rapid that many older people now use their smartphones for making payments, keeping in touch with extended family and for leisure pursuits, and one wonders if even recent past research has kept up with these changes of senior behaviour. Moreover, previous heritage research has focused mainly on pre-visit and on-site perceptions, with limited attention to post-visit outcomes, such as memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) and quality of life (QoL), and little consideration of the temporal changes in these variables. MTEs look at tourists’ experiences that could be recalled or remembered after tourism activities occurred (Kim et al., 2012). Subjective QoL refers to how individuals perceive or evaluate their own lives (Woo et al., 2016). Therefore, this study aims to examine generational differences in heritage tourism experiences and outcomes among Chinese tourists, with particular attention to the temporal dynamics of MTEs and QoL. To address these gaps, this study adopted a mixed-methods approach. In the qualitative phase, three rounds of interviews with 65 participants compared pre-visit, on-site, and post-visit perceptions between Chinese Generation Zs and the Lost Generation regarding visits to Kulangsu, a World Heritage Site. Interview data suggested that both MTEs and QoL improvements changed within seven to fifteen days after the visit. In the quantitative phase, a closed-ended questionnaire validated generational differences identified qualitatively. In brief, the three-stage interview approach not only minimized post hoc rationalization but also facilitated the exploration of time intervals’ influence on MTEs and QoL. The Jaccard index was further applied to support a reasonable transition from qualitative findings and the correlation hypotheses development to the quantitative significance test. This design enabled the study to capture temporal dynamics of tourism experiences that are often overlooked in cross-sectional tourism research. The quantitative phase then within a broader and more representative sample (889 respondents, including a middle-aged group), tested relationships among pre-visit, on-site, and post-visit perceptions, as well as the effects of time variables on MTEs and QoL. The unique mixed methods design effectively addressed the research questions and offers new directions for future tourism studies. This study also makes multiple contributions in terms of theoretical extension and application. First, it provides a generationally informed account of why, how, and for what purposes younger and older Chinese heritage tourists visit Kulangsu, showing the profound influence of generational background and presenting a coherent narrative of the two cohorts’ heritage visitations. Second, it offers an in-depth discussion of MTEs and QoL in the heritage tourism context, which were linked with pre-and during visit perception variables, confirming that heritage experiences must first be memorable in order to affect QoL. Third, it demonstrates that the time interval after a visit directly leads to a decline in the memorability of heritage experiences, which in turn results in a reduction of QoL improvements gained from the trip. This finding helps explain the decline in tourists’ temporal wellbeing improvement reported in previous studies. In addition, the results also have practical implications for heritage site management, particularly for Kulangsu, and highlight the need for other heritage destinations to tailor services to generational characteristics, especially for the emerging younger market, while focusing on visitor-cantered outcomes such as memorable experiences that can enhance people’s quality of life, even if for only a short period of time. The temporal elements of such enhancements of life quality are also discussed in the thesis.
The phylogenesis of palaeoarts, and their coevolution in relation to artification
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Allegretti, Pietro; Kingsbury, Justine; Killin, Anton; Pievani, Dietelmo
In this thesis, I investigate the hypothesis of artification developed by Ellen Dissanayake and its relevance for developing an account of the evolutionary trajectory of art-making in humans and hominins. The debate about the evolution of art-making has produced many theories of how arts evolved in humans’ deep past. One of the most promising views is the hypothesis of artification, that suggests that artworks evolved in ritual ceremonies as an enactment of the hominin predisposition to make bodies, objects, and vocalisations perceptually striking. I suggest that artification’s antecedents can be traced back to Australopithecines’ mother-infant interaction. I provide an argument in support of characterising artification as a cognitive toolkit that first evolved as an attention-getter mechanism, and art-making as a set of culturally accumulated practices exploiting this toolkit that evolved following coevolutionary trajectories with socio-cognitive niches in later hominins. I conclude that artification has a mosaic evolution, and that the first instances of art-making can be tracked back to the Early-Acheulean ≈ 1.7 mya.
New high temperature transcritical CO2 heat pump concept for spray drying
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Kong, Lana; Walmsley, Timothy Gordon; Carson, James K.; Kloeppel, Steffen; Chen, Qun
The need to decarbonise the industrial sector requires new innovations in high temperature heating. The development of an industrial high temperature heat pump presents not only great emissions reduction potential but also cost saving potential for industrial process heat users. Compared to boilers with efficiencies ranging from 70 to 99%, heat pumps have the ability to leverage renewable electricity to supply heating as a standalone technology (air-source heat pumps), with one unit if electricity being able to supply multiple units of heat (Coefficient of Performance > 1) or integrate with existing boilers to reduce steam demand (air-source or waste heat recovery). This thesis investigates a novel high temperature transcritical CO2 heat pump concept using a case study in milk powder spray drying. A series of cycle architectures were modelled that incorporated internal heat exchangers and cascade arrangements to assess their effect on thermodynamic performance for not only large temperature lifts (>150 °C) but also large temperature glides (>150 °C). A transcritical-transcritical cascade configuration was found to achieve a sink temperature of 200 °C with a COP of 2.22 at moderate discharge pressures (150 bar) compared to what is currently available in the literature (>200 bar). Expansion work recovery, using ejectors and expanders, was further explored to reduce exergy losses, achieving incremental COP gains up to 2.35. However, it was determined that, at this stage, the marginal increases in COP did not overcome the challenges in complexity of integrating an expander or ejector within the system. A comparison of integration options was undertaken that compared the high temperature heat pump integration with fuel switching to electrode or biomass boilers. Hybrid configurations of heat pump and boilers were also assessed at varying utility prices to determine whether an optimum sink temperature existed to minimise the operational cost. With this, a multi-temperature heat pump configuration was found to improve the COP of the heat pump to 2.55 for air heating to 200 °C, which emphasises the importance of temperature profile matching in heat pump design. Operating costs depended on the electricity-to-biomass price ratio and grid emissions intensity. In all cases, electrode boiler conversions had the highest operational cost. Price ratios below 2.75 were favourable for full electrification using a heat pump, while price ratios above 3.67 favoured a full biomass conversion. Between these two price ratios, the optimal hybrid configuration was to supply the air heating up to the temperature level for the fluidised bed (102 °C) using a heat pump and supply the remainder of the heating using a biomass boiler. In comparison to coal, the proposed solutions achieved emissions savings between 55 and 94 %. The wider potential for the high temperature heat pump concept was then estimated, revealing a broader potential for CO2 high temperature heat pumps to supply hundreds of petajoules per year of low-carbon heat across a diverse range of industrial sectors. Due to being able to produce both large temperature glides and large temperature lifts, the CO2 high temperature heat pump was particularly suited for a range of drying processes (further than milk powder spray drying). Potential source and sink streams for the heat pump were identified for each application to estimate possible COPs, which ranged between 2.0 and 3.05 for sink outlet temperatures ranging from 110 to 280 °C. Emissions reduction was shown to be viable for nearly all regions when displacing coal, but requires cleaner electricity grids or higher COPs when displacing natural gas. This thesis contributes an in depth thermodynamic analysis of both a novel high temperature heat pump cycle architecture and a novel application of high temperature heat pumps into the milk powder spray drying process. Additionally, this thesis contributes a cross-sectoral analysis for implementation, collating potential source and sink streams across a variety of applications.
Re-examining the best interests of child principle. Can this help tamariki and rangatahi Māori achieve the highest attainable standard of mental health?
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Karunaratne, Kalupathirannehelage Dona Thilini Prathiba; Breen, Claire; Joseph, Robert
This thesis explores how a re-examination of the best interests of the child principle can assist tamariki and rangatahi Māori to achieve the highest attainable standard of mental health. Although New Zealand has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, which enshrines the “best interests of the child” principle, significant disparities in mental health outcomes remain between tamariki and rangatahi Māori and non-Māori children and young people. Drawing on international human rights law, domestic legislation, case law, and Māori concepts of health and wellbeing, this thesis develops a theoretical and practical framework for reducing these mental health disparities. It explores whether New Zealand can utilise the best interests principle in a way that recognises and incorporates the unique cultural identity and collective rights of tamariki and rangatahi Māori. The flexible nature of the best interests principle is leveraged to integrate collective cultural rights and Māori worldviews into mental health law and policies. By doing so, it aims to facilitate greater recognition of Māori collective rights and practices within NewZealand's legal and healthcare systems. This research proposes that a culturally-informed interpretation of the best interests principle, aligned with Māori worldviews and values, is important for fulfilling New Zealand’s international obligations and the achievement of the highest attainable standard of mental health for tamariki and rangatahi Māori. The thesis contends that decisions concerning the best interests of tamariki and rangatahi Māori in mental health should be guided by a “by Māori, for Māori” approach, which informs and shapes the broader application of the best interests principle. Through this analysis, the thesis seeks to contribute to the improvement of mental health outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi Māori.
Effects of lake trophic state and seasonal cycling on production and bioaccumulation of methylmercury in Te Arawa Lakes
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Chong, Grace-Lynn; Ling, Nicholas
There are natural sources of Mercury in New Zealand, primarily derived from volcanic activity and geothermal vents. Mercury (Hg) and its organic derivative, methylmercury (MeHg), are highly toxic to both the environment and human health. Of particular concern is the ability of MeHg to bioaccumulate in aquatic food webs, leading to increased toxicity in higher trophic organisms. Given that fish constitute a significant component of the local diet, comprehensive monitoring of Hg and MeHg concentrations is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies. Such efforts are critical to controlling Hg contamination in the environment and aquatic biota, as well as informing the public about lakes with elevated mercury levels. Previous Hg studies in New Zealand have been limited in scope, with monitoring efforts focused on only a few lakes rather than a comprehensive assessment across multiple ecosystems. Additionally, most existing research has primarily examined elemental Hg, with limited investigation into the distribution and bioavailability of MeHg. This study aims to comprehensively assess Hg and MeHg concentrations in 11 lakes of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. The study assessed Hg and MeHg concentrations in lake water and aquatic biota, including trout, crayfish (koura), and mussels (kakahi). To achieve this, Hg and MeHg in the water were measured using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) samplers, while tissue analyses determined Hg, MeHg and additional trace elements in the selected species. The findings of this study are expected to clarify the distribution and bioaccumulation of Hg and MeHg within lake ecosystems and to elucidate their transfer through the aquatic food web. These results will provide a scientific basis for assessing ecological and human health risks associated with mercury exposure, particularly for culturally and recreationally important species. The outcomes will inform lake management and monitoring strategies by identifying key pathways of mercury uptake and potential bioindicator species, and may guide the development of targeted mitigation measures, such as catchment management or advisories on species consumption. Collectively, this research will support evidence-based decision-making for freshwater ecosystem protection and long-term contaminant management. The results of this study revealed that total mercury (THg) and MeHg concentrations in trout, koura, and kakahi from Lakes Rotorua, Rotoiti, and Rotomahana exceeded WHO recommended safety thresholds. This study also found that a substantial proportion of THg was comprised of MeHg, which was predominantly accumulated in muscle tissue, whereas THg was primarily concentrated in the liver. The findings further indicated that eutrophication, lake stratification and hypolimnetic anoxia contribute to the enhanced production and bioaccumulation of Hg and MeHg within these aquatic systems. Additionally, selenium (Se) demonstrated a potential protective effect against MeHg toxicity in aquatic organisms.
CSR practices in luxury hotels of China: Perception, cultural and generation differences
(The University of Waikato, 2026-01-23) George, LIU; Ryan, Chris; Mohsin, Asad
This study investigates how corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices are perceived in Chinese luxury hotels, focusing on cultural influences, generational cohorts, and organisational roles. Grounded in Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions, self-determination theory (SDT), and the Confucian concept of self-cultivation, the research addresses a gap in understanding how cultural values and intergenerational differences shape staff CSR perceptions in the luxury hospitality context. Adopting a pragmatic research philosophy, an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. In the qualitative phase, 37 semi-structured interviews with hotel staff (including senior managers, middle managers, and line employees) revealed key themes by the use of narrative interpretation: (a) deep-rooted cultural norms (collectivism, harmony, respect for hierarchy) that reinforce CSR as a collective obligation led by top management, (b) generational value differences in CSR engagement, and (c) variations in perceived CSR benefits across job positions. Building on these insights, the quantitative phase surveyed staff across luxury hotels in China (N = 533). Structural equation modelling results confirmed and extended the qualitative patterns. For example, 72% of managers affirmed that CSR initiatives strengthened brand reputation, whereas only 48% of line staff shared this view, reflecting positional gaps in perceived strategic value. Generational contrasts were also evident: nearly two-thirds of Millennial and Gen Z staff reported strong personal commitment to CSR activities, compared to about half of older staff. Statistical analysis using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) confirmed significant employee-level differences in perceptions of CSR practices within luxury hotels in China. Notably, perceived CSR was particularly pronounced among senior-level staff, reflecting hierarchical variations in CSR prioritisation and implementation. This research has provided a pioneering examination of CSR practices in China’s luxury hotel sector, demonstrating how cultural context and generational dynamics jointly shape staff perceptions of CSR. The study involved a nuanced synthesis of qualitative depth and quantitative rigour, yielding empirical evidence to describe similarities and differences between the perceptions and generations. These differences, rooted in China’s cultural heritage and the evolving values of its workforce, have significant implications for both theory and practice. The findings extend the CSR literature by confirming that why and how staff engage with CSR is contingent on a confluence of individual values, leadership influence, and socio-cultural background, aligning with global evidence of CSR’s positive impact while also highlighting unique intra-cultural variations. Theoretically, this thesis extends CSR and organisational behaviour literature by integrating Western motivational theories with Chinese cultural frameworks, demonstrating how national culture and generational identity jointly shape CSR perceptions and engagement. Methodologically, the study validates the efficacy of a pragmatic, sequential mixed-methods approach, effectively capturing the nuanced, multi-dimensional CSR perceptions within a complex cultural setting. Practically, the findings offer actionable insights for human resource management (HRM), recommending differentiated CSR strategies and communication tailored to generational characteristics and cultural values, thus enhancing CSR integration, employee motivation, and organisational alignment. Consequently, the main contributions of this thesis are: providing empirical evidence on how cultural and generational factors together influence perceptions of CSR in China’s luxury hospitality sector; demonstrating the effectiveness of a mixed-method approach to exploring complex cultural and organisational phenomena; and offering practical, culturally informed guidelines for improving CSR engagement among diverse staff groups in luxury hotels of China, highlighting the potential impact of staff perception on corporate ethical behaviour. This study discusses its limitations, provides recommendations, and explores potential opportunities for future research.
Furthering deep learning in near-infrared spectroscopy for fruit quality assessment
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Wohlers, Mark W.; Holmes, Geoffrey; Frank, Eibe; McGlone, Andrew
Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is widely used to assess fruit quality in the horticulture industry. It enables non-destructive estimation of key fruit quality measures from spectra, including dry matter content (associated with taste) and soluble solids content (associated with ripeness). Traditionally, partial least squares regression (PLSR) has been the dominant modelling method. However, more recently, deep learning (DL) has shown promise due to its ability to learn features automatically and model non-linear patterns. However, there are several challenges DL faces when applied to NIR. Labelled datasets are complicated, expensive, and time-consuming to obtain at the size required to fit these models. Deciding on the appropriate architecture and hyperparameters can also be challenging when validation data is sparse. Additionally, a problem of great practical importance in NIR spectroscopy is the difficulty of generalising across different devices of the same model or under different conditions, such as temperature. This thesis addresses these challenges through three complementary methods. The first uses a data augmentation technique that samples from a multivariate normal distribution with a covariance matrix designed to simulate spectral differences observed across devices. The experiments investigate whether the augmentation improves generalisability and training with small sample sizes. The second method is a metric based on model stability to diffeomorphic transformations relative to uncorrelated perturbations of similar magnitude. The experiment evaluates the appropriateness of this method for model selection tasks and compares its performance with standard validation methods. The third method adapts the Barlow Twins contrastive learning method to enable semi-supervised learning in the NIR setting. The Barlow Twins loss function allows unlabelled data to compensate when labelled data is scarce. This method also improves generalisability by encouraging multiple measurements on the same fruit to be similar in the encoded latent space. Evaluation of these methods is conducted on two datasets: a new dataset containing 5418 kiwifruit sampled across five devices and three seasons, and a previously published dataset of 4675 mangoes measured across four seasons. The results show that the methods improve predictive performance, especially for small labelled datasets and calibration transfer problems. This allows for the easier application of deep learning to NIR spectroscopy by reducing the requirements for labelled data, improving model generalisability across devices, and enabling model selection under data constraints.
Elucidating the molecular basis of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) production in Leptospermum nectar
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Grierson, Ella; Clearwater, Michael J.; Chagné, David; Schwinn, Kathy; Davies, Kevin
Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) nectar contains variable amounts of dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a triose sugar that is the precursor to methylglyoxal (MGO), the antimicrobial compound underpinning the high value of mānuka honey and forming the basis of the Aotearoa-New Zealand honey industry. This trait is unique to some species within the Myrtaceae. The molecular basis of this high-value trait is unknown and identifying it would allow development of gene-based tools to identify high value germplasm to inform replanting and breeding programmes. Despite the fundamental importance of nectar to crop pollination and honey industries, the genetic control of nectary function is poorly understood, especially in non-model species. This thesis aims to elucidate the molecular basis of DHA production in Leptospermum nectar, through identifying associated genes and genomic regions, followed by further exploration of gene regulation and enzyme characterisation in vitro and in vivo. RNAseq analysis identified nectary-associated genes differentially expressed between high and low nectar-DHA genotypes of L. scoparium, and a mānuka high-density linkage map and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping population revealed genetic regions associated with nectar DHA content. Expression and QTL analyses both pointed to the involvement of a phosphatase gene, LsSgpp2, as its expression correlated with nectar DHA accumulation and it co-located with a QTL on chromosome 4. To investigate Sgpp2 and its complex locus further, we produced high-quality genomes and hypanthium transcriptomes for two further Leptospermeae species with contrasting DHA phenotypes – Leptospermum morrisonii and Gaudium laevigatum. Expression patterns of Sgpp2 again correlated with nectar DHA in these species, and comparative analyses of Sgpp sequences within the Myrtaceae indicated that high Sgpp2 expression was likely ancestral in DHA producing taxa, followed by repeated loss of the trait. Comparison within and between Sgpp genes with differing expression profiles identified regions unique to the highly expressed Sgpp2 genes, which contained two C-box motifs, and a bZIP11 transcription factor predicted to bind to these motifs was identified as significantly differentially expressed in the RNAseq dataset. The bZIP11 gene was subsequently found to co-locate with another of the QTLs identified, further supporting its involvement. The L. morrisonii promoter drove strong nectary-specific expression in transgenic lines of Petunia and Nicotiana, showing elements essential for Sgpp2 expression are within that region. However, the promoter in 13 DHA producing L. scoparium genotypes was found to be similar, indicating variation in nectar DHA amounts may be conferred by further complex transcriptional regulation fine tuning Sgpp2 expression from beyond the promoter region analysed here. Functional analyses demonstrated that LmSGPP2 can dephosphorylate dihydroxyacetone-phosphate (DHAP) to produce DHA and phosphate in vitro. Transgenic Petunia and Nicotiana lines were created to characterise LmSGPP2 activity in vivo, but results were inconclusive due to low and mis-located expression of the transgene. Together our results suggest Sgpp2 may contribute to maintaining phosphate homeostasis in a photosynthesising nectary, potentially evolving due to low phosphate availability – which is common in Australia where this tribe originates. This work advances our understanding of nectar biology and reports some of the first QTLs and genes linked to a low abundance nectar compound. The genes and genomic regions identified here provide a foundation for developing tools to identify high-value germplasm – ensuring biodiversity can be maintained while increasing high-value honey production.
Activating belonging: Towards a critcial ensemble pedagogy
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Brown, Gaenor; Moffat , Kirstine; Haughey, Laura; Manning, Declan
Contemporary research shows school belonging as a key determinant of learner health and wellbeing. Teachers, and teaching practices, are pivotal in developing safe, supportive communities in which students can learn and thrive, where they can belong. In this thesis the high school drama education ensemble in Aotearoa New Zealand is presented as a site for the exploration and activation of belonging. Framed through a self-study of teacher education practice, using (S-STEP) methodology, the research reimagines ensemble pedagogy for dramatic inquiry process through a lens of critical belonging. The research opens with a contextual review of contemporary scholarship and evolving theories about school belonging and ensemble pedagogy, mapping how both fields are relationally, spatially and temporally situated. The contextual review highlights the importance of drama education and school belonging practices and pedagogies in the generation of transdisciplinary knowledge. Six principles of practice for drama educators have been developed to support the activation of belonging, relating to Identity, Process, Provocation, Space and Place, Performativity and Reflexivity. These principles are informed by semi-structured interviews with participants experienced in ensemble-based teaching and learning, and by autoethnographic reflective responses prompted by interview dialogues. In this research autoethnography is identified as a form of wayfinding, a traditional Pacific concept, drawing on the mātauranga Māori concepts and values of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga, to weave affective, political and socio-ecological belonging into a critical perspective of ensemble practice. The six principles of practice have been trialled in dramatic inquiry workshops, with pre- service drama educators, in a design incorporating process drama, image theatre and forum theatre. Drama conventions as boundary objects, bridging the fields of drama education and belonging, provide structure to the workshops, further informing development of the principles of practice. Through an ongoing dialogic cycle of workshop enactment, participant feedback and drama educator reflection, the principles are reassessed, redefined and refined. This research argues for a critical ensemble pedagogy that makes space for the ensemble as both site and practice. The study advocates for a pedagogy which honours indigenous ways of knowing in drama education, catalyses creative expression and activates critical belonging.
Spiritual beliefs, practices, and shadows of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at in Fiji
(The University of Waikato, 2026-01) Berndorff, Valentýna; Dr Isaacs, Bronwyn; Dr Pratt, Douglas
This doctoral thesis examines the self-perceptions and lived experiences of Fijian Ahmadis - members of a transnational religious minority who self-identify as Muslims under the spiritual leadership of the Khalifa based in London, UK. The global Ahmadiyya Jama’at positions its adherents as divinely appointed bearers of the truest form of Islam, uniquely entrusted with leading others “from darkness to light”. At its core, this thesis poses a central question: how do Fijian Ahmadis pursue and sustain their religious identity and practices in a remote Pacific context, within a pluralistic yet predominantly Christian society? Drawing on six months of ethnographic fieldwork in Fiji, complemented by additional research among Ahmadis in New Zealand, this study explores how Fijian Ahmadis conform to doctrinal orthodoxy, navigate communal authority, articulate theological claims and interact both internally and with other Fijians. In this thesis, I critically examine the tensions Fijian Ahmadis face in balancing their local religious life with the global aspirations of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at - addressing certain contradictions while allowing others to remain obscured in the shadows of rigorous daily practice. A strong sense of communal exclusivity is shown to be sustained through the movement’s bureaucratic apparatus, which promotes submission to its centralised hierarchy, religious discipline, and personal sacrifice. I contend that by prioritising religious identity and communal purity, this framework reorients Fijian Ahmadis away from their immediate social environment towards alignment with the global Ahmadiyya Jama’at, thereby limiting their deeper engagement with broader Fijian society. Further, this thesis addresses gendered expressions of religiosity and modesty, illustrating how the practice of purdah among Fijian Ahmadis both embodies and reinforces traditional gender roles. Finally, while the community publicly promotes values of tolerance and humanism, these ideals often remain bounded by religious and moral distinctiveness. The tension between rhetorical inclusivity and lived exclusivity becomes especially evident in the Ahmadiyya leadership’s controversial response to the ongoing conflict and genocide in Gaza.
Creative practices as research: Exploring the sensory world of visually impaired artists in China
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Ma, Yuan; Delmotte , Isabelle A.; Frawley, Patsie
This research focuses on non-visual artistic collaborative practice between artists with visual impairment in China and a sighted researcher, encompassing multi-sensory creative practices, including non-visual photography, improvised music, dance, and installation art. A mixed-methods approach integrating qualitative methods (collaborative art practices, semi-structured interviews) and quantitative analysis of audience survey data was employed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the research phenomena. The resulting data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA), and Descriptive Statistical Analysis (DSA) to systematically examine the role of embodied perception and spatial awareness in artistic expression. Further attention was given to how artists constructed meaning and created a sense of place through sensory interaction. The researcher engaged in the collaborative process through multiple roles – academic, practitioner, and curator – undertaking sustained reflexive inquiry to analyse the mechanisms of multi-sensory creation and cognitive transformation. Through collaborative art practices and exhibitions carried out in both China and New Zealand, the study illuminated the dynamic function of embodied difference in multi-sensory collaborative practice, critically challenging visual-centric aesthetic norms and dominant assumptions about creative practices. Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and Crip theory provide robust theoretical foundations for understanding disability experiences. CDS focuses on critiques of social structures, while Crip theory emphasises the deconstruction of marginalised bodies. Despite their complementary insights, these two frameworks are frequently used separately in existing research. Dialogue and intertextual engagement between CDS and Crip theory show certain limitations and remain somewhat underdeveloped. Meanwhile, most current studies concentrate on theoretical development. In contrast, their practical application, especially in artistic creation, embodied creative practices, and cross-cultural collaborative art, remains underexplored. This research integrates both CDS and Crip theory to examine how multi-sensory artistic practices can challenge normative assumptions about perception, disability, and authorship. These frameworks are applied to analyse collaborative processes, audience responses, and curatorial strategies, highlighting how disability is both culturally constructed and generatively embodied. At the theoretical level, the study employed a phenomenological perspective to emphasise how individuals construct unique perceptual pathways through sustained embodied interaction with their environment. This orientation resonated strongly with traditional Chinese Daoist philosophy, particularly the principles of natural spontaneity and Wu-Wei (Hansen, 2024), which emphasise harmony between body and world. Daoist thought values the fluidity of bodily interaction with nature, immediate perception, and holistic awareness, paralleling phenomenology’s concern with embodied experience and the lifeworld. A convergence of these two philosophical traditions was articulated in the research, offering an intercultural theoretical foundation for understanding how artists with visual impairment create art through non-visual sensory modes. This fusion of Eastern and Western thought expanded phenomenology’s applicability in sensory studies and opened a critically grounded, locally situated space for disability arts research. The findings revealed a diversity of perceptual strategies and creative capacities among the Chinese artists with visual impairment. Across the four art forms, distinct sensory pathways were activated through non-visual means. In non-visual photography, artists constructed spatial understanding by combining auditory cues, tactile exploration, and imaginative perception. Improvised dance revealed how bodily movement attuned to environmental affordances could open alternative channels of sensation. In musical improvisation, layered sound and embodied rhythm emerged through muscle memory and somatic responsiveness. Installation art, meanwhile, engaged audiences through the tactile qualities of materials, inviting sensory exploration beyond sight. These practices underscored the centrality of non-visual senses in creative work and redefined the boundaries of artistic expression, contributing to a theoretically grounded and socially relevant framework for non-visual art research.
Iwasawa theory for tensor products of Hilbert modular forms
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Corpuz, Raiza; Delbourgo, Daniel; Lei, Antonio; Stokes, Tim
The main conjecture of Iwasawa theory bridges two seemingly disjoint areas of mathematics: arithmetic and analysis. In particular, it provides a deep connection between the p-adic L-function which interpolates critical values of the complex L-series, and the Selmer group which is an important object used to control the growth of arithmetic data. In this thesis, we explore some questions that arise organically from the Iwasawa Main Conjecture, applied to Hilbert modular forms and their tensor products. Greenberg and Vatsal developed an approach to study the main conjecture for a large class of elliptic curves simultaneously. They showed that if a given pair of elliptic curves share the same residual Galois representation, then the main conjecture holds for one if and only if it does for the other. The first part of this thesis investigates whether the ideas of Greenberg and Vatsal work for elliptic curves twisted by a CM-Hecke character. The second part of this thesis then extends the method to treat non-ordinary classical modular forms (without any twist). The former permits one to study rational elliptic curves base-changed to an arbitrary number field, whilst the latter requires techniques crafted by Pollack and Kobayashi in the early 2000s. Finally, the third part of this thesis concerns Euler systems and their applications to the arithmetic of motives arising from modular forms—these objects are indispensable tools which can be used to prove half of the Iwasawa main conjecture. However they often give rise to additional “junk” error terms, as well as causing the p-adic L-function to be stripped away of certain bad Euler factors. For modular forms and their tensor products we devise a method to dispose of the error terms and to replenish the missing factors, allowing one to genuinely obtain half of the main conjecture free from any discrepancies.
Refugee resettlement and socio-economic participation through entrepreneurship: The case of New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2025-09-02) Fatokun, Kolawole Ishola; Sinha, Paresha N.; Scott, Jonathan M.
Entrepreneurship is often viewed as a feasible pathway for refugee resettlement. It is regarded as a means for refugees to find employment and participate in socio-economic activities. Previous studies have suggested refugee entrepreneurship as a pathway for refugee integration. However, it is not enough to assert that entrepreneurship is a pathway for refugees to integrate and resettle in a host community; we need to understand how entrepreneurship contributes to their resettlement. The current knowledge needs to be expanded within the context of resettlement by exploring why refugees start businesses, how refugee entrepreneurship aids resettlement, the types of businesses refugees engage in, and the reasons behind these choices. How does refugee entrepreneurship influence resettlement? Focusing on spatiality, this study addresses the gap caused by the lack of a context-specific study examining refugee entrepreneurship and resettlement in a host country. A synthesised conceptual framework that provides a structured overview of key ideas, concepts, theories, and relationships drawn from existing research and literature on (refugee) entrepreneurship and resettlement has been neglected. Exploring the phenomenon of refugee entrepreneurship and its connection to resettlement necessitates the development of a synthesised conceptual framework. In conducting this study, the framework is based on a synthesis of: (1) the mechanisms (a broad theoretical discussion) driving the motivation of (refugee) entrepreneurs; (2) social capital theory; and (3) mixed embeddedness theory. Focusing on New Zealand as a refugee-receiving country, the developed novel context-aware conceptual framework is applied to improve understanding of the linkage between refugee entrepreneurship and resettlement. How the “enabling” factors of refugee entrepreneurship transform misfortune into positive outcomes for refugees is revealed. The term “enabling” describes how refugees overcome difficulties and turn challenges into elements that drive positive outcomes for them. This study provides answers to why refugees engage in business activities. This improves our understanding of the motives of refugee entrepreneurs beyond the traditional push and pull dichotomy of necessity and opportunity recognition. Although motivated to start businesses, refugees encounter significant barriers to entrepreneurship and need to actively participate in socio-economic activities to support their resettlement through entrepreneurship. Refugee resettlement through entrepreneurship is a transformative process shaped by their experiences from their home country, culture, transition, and pre-entrepreneurial activities in the host country. Applying the interpretive approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 refugee entrepreneurs, using a semi-structured interview guide. Qualitative methods that uniquely enable the explanation of the participants’ agentic lived experiences, capturing individuals’ meanings and interpretations of their behaviours, events, and contexts, were employed. Abductive reasoning was used to identify themes, codes, and categories. Raw data were organised through the first-order coding or open coding process, where sets of data were closely reviewed and integrated with other data to develop broader themes and theoretical dimensions. NVivo software was utilised to support and enhance the rigour of data analysis. This study finds that refugees must transition from informal to formal entrepreneurs to resettle through entrepreneurship. This change requires support from drivers of mixed embeddedness (DME) and government intervention through policy change, especially for refugees who arrive as adults.
Transfer and persistence of spiritual values as institutional logics in post-founding social ventures
(The University of Waikato, 2025-12-17) Abeywardana, Thanuksha; Pavlovich, Kathryn; Sinha, Paresha N.; Markman, Gideon
It is well understood that personal values can profoundly influence the purpose and direction of a new venture. This is even more so when the spiritual values of the founder are involved. Even though spirituality empowers oneself with energy, passion, direction, and meaning in both personal and occupational life, the process through which spiritual values are transferred from the founder to the organisation and how they persist within the venture remains unclear. This leads to the research question of the study: How do spiritual values of the founder transfer and persist within the venture to become an institutional logic? Interpretivism serves as the paradigm for my study. The research follows a qualitative approach, employing case studies for an in-depth exploration of the data. A sample of sixty participants, comprising founders and employees, from Sri Lankan MSM social enterprises, was interviewed. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. Firstly, the research reveals that recognising the founder’s spiritual values begins with comprising founders and employees from the founder embodying selfless qualities such as gratitude, generosity, empathy, detachment, principled conduct, and a sense of justice through self-aware thoughts and actions. This study focuses on an in-depth understanding of how the spiritual values of the founder have been transferred into the ventures and how they persist. Therefore, secondly, the study uncovers that the transferring of the founder’s spiritual values occurs through three processes: Practising, fostering and nurturing. The transfer of spiritual values involves routine actions that align thoughts and behaviours with the inner well-being of both oneself and others. This process is nurtured through intentional, compassionate understanding and encouragement, fostering inner calmness to bring comfort to others. Thirdly, my study signifies three processes of persistence of spiritual values within the venture: Contemplating, continuous engagement and inculcating. The persistence of spiritual values as institutional logics begins with self-reflection, grounded in self-awareness and consistent, often unintentional interactions that promote a commitment-driven life in service to others. The discussion and conclusion evaluate and reflect, respectively, on the journey of institutional logic. The transition from spiritual values to spiritual institutional logic is characterised by alignment, sense-making, and re-coupling. Alignment involves both inner resonance and collective resonance, extending beyond collective transcendence to encompass global transcendence. Sense-making indicates that founders and employees work collectively to ensure a meaningful purpose oriented toward the well-being of others, while also drawing on the inner, self-developed humanistic nature of spiritual values. In the process of recoupling, a complementary, yet evolving dimension of spiritual institutional logic emerges through the co-extraction and recombination of multiple elements derived from compatible spiritual values, resulting in a spiritual form of institutional logic. Finally, this study extends the moral and intellectual stance of institutional logic to include the spiritual dimension. The transition from spiritual values to institutional logics is observed through the characteristics and inherent nature of those values. Secondly, the value transfer process explored in this study offers a theoretical bridge between spirituality and management theory. It contributes to the value transmission process by integrating self-awareness and empathy into practice. Thirdly, this study provides evidence for the persistence of spiritual values within the domains of spirituality and institutional logic by highlighting the interplay between core and peripheral elements of spiritual institutional logics.
Open-Source tools for practical heat integration and utility system evaluation
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Hall, Keegan; Walmsley, Timothy Gordon; Walmsley, Michael; Udugama, Isuru A.
Industrial energy use is one of the most significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most effective strategies for reducing heat demand is optimising the design of heat exchanger networks (HENs). While automated synthesis methods like mathematical programming have long promised optimal designs, their industrial adoption remains limited. Key barriers include expensive software licenses, complexity of models and a disconnect between proposed thermal savings and real-world cost savings, especially for non-continuous processes. This thesis addresses these challenges by developing two complementary open-source tools that bridge the gap between advanced process integration methods and practical industrial implementation. The novel contributions in this thesis are delivered across two primary streams: (1) the development of OpenHENS, an entirely open-source tool for synthesising cost-optimal HENs using a robust multi-stage solution strategy, and (2) a machine learning-based surrogate modelling approach for predicting utility system performance under new heat recovery or plant configurations. Together these contributions allow engineers to investigate multiple heat recovery options and accurately evaluate the operational cost savings. OpenHENS combines a novel three step strategy to systematically reduce model complexity and generate a broad set of structurally diverse near-optimal heat HENs. Engineers then apply their judgement in selecting a design that aligns with real-world constraints such as spatial layout, capital budgets, and controllability, factors often too complex to model directly. OpenHENS is publicly available as a Python-based open-source tool and is designed to be accessible to engineers without prior experience in mathematical programming or coding. When validated on thirteen common benchmark problems, OpenHENS consistently returned solutions within 8% of the lowest known total annualised costs reported in the literature using commercial optimisation software. To support credible evaluation of energy efficiency projects, this thesis also develops a surrogate modelling framework tailored for large, non-continuous industrial sites where utility system behaviour is influenced by variable production, operator decisions, and equipment constraints. Trained on high-resolution plant data, the model captures non-linear, time-dependent system behaviour and is used to predict fuel consumption, cogeneration, boiler steam generation, and equipment-level steam demand across full-year operational periods. The approach is demonstrated through the evaluation of a hot water network retrofit at a pulp and paper mill, where standard costing methods were found to overestimate annual savings by NZD $9.8 million. The surrogate model also enables fair cost allocation prior to the design phases by quantifying the marginal steam cost (MSC) at each plant. Results showed that the hot water network retrofit had a MSC of -$10 per tonne, whereas the pulp dryer and paper machine had the highest MSCs around $20 per tonne. Beyond HEN evaluation, the surrogate model supports strategic scenario analysis for energy decision-making. The model was used to assess the implications of shutting down paper production on steam balances, asset utilisation, and site-wide fuel costs. The results revealed unintended consequences, including increased natural gas usage and instability due to low boiler turndown. Because the model reflects actual operational patterns embedded in historical data, these insights underscore the need for improved utility system operation. Additional ‘what-if’ scenarios demonstrated the potential for significant cost reductions by integrating new power generation technologies that recover surplus steam from biomass combustion.
Locating Moana through children’s eyes: “Seeing with others” in cultural identity and global media in Aotearoa New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Spieker, Annelore; Johnston, Lynda; Schott, Gareth R.; Hill, Rodrigo
This thesis investigates how children aged 5 to 12 in Aotearoa New Zealand interpret cultural representations in global animated media, with particular attention to Disney’s Moana (2016). Through a child-centred, transnational lens, the research examines how young audiences make sense of ethnicity, culture, and identity in mediated stories, and how these interpretations are shaped by their personal, familial, and educational experiences. The study draws on Jesús Martín-Barbero’s (1987, 2006) theory of cultural mediations, along with theories of globalisation and transnationalism, to understand how meaning-making occurs across local and global cultural flows. It also engages with children’s geographies to attend to questions of spatial belonging, migration, and place-based identity. The study is based on qualitative data gathered from 94 research participants through face-to-face and online data collection with a diverse group of 54 children representing over 30 ethnic backgrounds, including a large subset of participants from 10 Brazilian-background families living in Aotearoa New Zealand. Children were invited to interpret a range of 24 characters drawn from 16 Disney and Pixar media texts (15 animated films and one television series), with a particular emphasis on Moana. In addition, perspectives from 36 parents, as well as three primary school teachers and one principal, were collected to examine how families and educators use media for cultural learning and identity negotiation. Findings reveal that children actively interpret cultural cues through visual, emotional, and relational frameworks. Characters such as Moana and Maui were often identified as being “from here”, drawing on landscape, school-based learning, and everyday cultural knowledge. Brazilian families used global media texts to support cultural transmission, while children articulated desires for characters who resembled them not only in ethnicity, but also in language, values, and personality. Across the thesis, tensions emerged between cultural recognition and confusion, reflecting the complex dynamics of growing up in a legally bicultural and yet multicultural society, such as Aotearoa. This study contributes to scholarship on children’s media reception, transnational identity, and cultural representation by highlighting the voices of young viewers and the interpretive environments in which global media are made meaningful. By bringing together children’s perspectives with those of their families, and situating these within the cultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand, the thesis underscores how global animated films like Moana are not passively consumed but actively negotiated. It offers new insights into how identity, belonging, and cultural knowledge are shaped through everyday interactions with media, particularly for children growing up in transnational and multilingual households.
Hawaiki ora: Waka ama, it's a kind of magic
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Nuku, Michael; Tuaupiki, Haki; Hiha, Anne
Waka ama is a heterotopic social space deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori and is navigating transformative currents as it balances cultural integrity and the pursuit of performance excellence. This study investigated the magic of waka ama, namely the magnetic phenomenon that captivated participants, the lifestyle changes resulting from engagement and participants’ environmental perceptions. Magic is understood as the recognition of the enchanted amid modern pressures. A critical gap identified in the literature is the lack of recognition of the key elements that underpin positive participation in waka ama. By articulating and validating these key elements, this thesis lays a foundation for protecting and sustaining these cultural dimensions as waka ama grows in prominence and recognition as a high-performance sport. The study also raises concerns that increasing formalisation may risk eroding traditional values, underscoring the need for culturally responsive strategies to preserve the essence of waka ama for future generations. This Kaupapa Māori Research is rooted in Te Ao Māori, with Kaupapa Māori Theory maintaining a Māori lens for interpretation and positionality. It utilised the Waka Ama Rangahau conceptual framework, creating stability and rigour for this journey of discovery. It employed an in-depth review of literature and semi-structured interviews with 15 established kaihoe (paddlers) from across Aotearoa to gather data. It also included perspectives of a group of kaihoe that experienced waka ama from an unexplored viewpoint to add depth and breadth to the findings. Thematic analysis and the Whakaaro method were employed to analyse the data. The findings were then presented using Thematic Synthesis. The knowledge and experiences shared by kaihoe contributed towards answering the three research questions and establishing the Waka AMA (Āhuru Mōwai Aroha) Model for supportive environments that characterised the concept of āhuru mōwai. This study conceptualised the āhuru mōwai, Hawaiki Ora, inspired by historical discourse and interpretations of Hawaiki Nui. The spatio-temporal environment of waka ama cultivated Hawaiki Ora in ways that align with Te Ao Māori time and space, and are reinforced by Foucault’s concept of heterotopia and Lefebvre’s theory of social space, offering a unique, transformative space for identity, performance, connection, and care. Within this environment, kaihoe collectively negotiate and uphold their ideals, forging unity and compromise over time. These findings underscore the necessity of preserving waka ama’s whānau-centric ethos to safeguard its cultural and spiritual essence against the encroachment of Eurocentric marginalisation commonly framed as modernity. The Waka AMA Model provides an environmental social construction plan to ensure a supportive and genuinely caring environment is available throughout challenging times and spaces. Crucially, this support must be ongoing and never taken for granted. Waka AMA supports Hawaiki Ora from the experiences, aspirations and rangatiratanga of kaihoe.
Developing new multiscale models for the numerical simulation of Pultruded GFRP Structural Elements
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Abbaszadeh, Hadi; Mochida, Yusuke
Pultruded Fibre-Reinforced Polymers (FRP) are innovative structural elements gaining popularity for various structural applications due to their unique properties, such as magnetic transparency and an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. These materials have been extensively studied through experimental and numerical methods to assess their performance as structural components. Accurately describing the micro- and macro-scale mechanical features of FRP elements necessitates complex computational models to predict their strength and investigate design parameters through numerical simulations. This research initially reviews the state-of-the-art in numerical modelling of structural fibre-reinforced polymeric elements, particularly pultruded Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymers (GFRP). It highlights their use as load-bearing structural elements and evaluates various numerical methods, including Finite Element Method (FEM), eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM), Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT), Cohesive Zone Modelling (CZM), Multiscale Reduced Order Modelling (ROM), and Random Lattice Modelling (RLM). Each method's distinctive features, challenges, and capabilities are discussed in detail. The aim is to assess the reliability of these numerical models for simulating FRP structural elements and provide recommendations for future research by discussing 160 references from the literature. In the next step, the experimental characterization of Pultruded GFRP materials evaluated. These composites exhibit remarkable strength, comparable or even superior to steel, and resistance to environmental effects. However, their strongly orthotropic behaviour and spatial variability in mechanical properties present challenges. Fibre orientation and distribution significantly affect the ultimate strength and stiffness of these materials. This work includes an experimental campaign on GFRP specimens in uniaxial tension and three-point bending, testing coupon specimens with fibre orientations of 0, 15, 45, and 90 degrees to characterize ultimate strength and failure modes. Detailed statistical measures of the strength values are presented, aiming to understand the variability in mechanical properties of commercially available profiles. In addition, the stiffness parameter was considered to investigate by analytical study comparing experimental results. Despite the promising properties of pultruded GFRP, their relatively low stiffness and strength in the direction orthogonal to the fibres limit their widespread adoption in civil engineering applications. This work investigates the mechanical behaviour of pultruded GFRP beams using analytical methods, presenting experimental results from a small-scale campaign conducted by the researcher. These results validate the analytical model and compare the elastic stiffness concerning fibre orientation, providing insights into the potential and limitations of pultruded GFRP elements in structural applications. Finally, the last step of study demonstrates the inherent limitations of traditional lattice models and propose a new model to simulate the orthotropic materials` behaviours in different conditions. This section presents an innovative approach by using irregular lattice networks to simulate the elastic behaviour of orthotropic GFRP structural elements by Voronoi Cell Lattice Modelling (VCLM), focusing on different fibre-to-matrix elasticity ratios and fibre to load orientations. The proposed method first estimates the elastic properties for various fibre orientations and verifies the model against standard deformation cases and experimental data. Additionally, it compares numerical predictions to established theories like the Tsai-Hill criterion. Through sensitivity analysis, it explores how fibre-to-matrix ratios and Young’s modulus affect macroscopic Poisson’s ratio, offering new insights into stiffness effects on anisotropic material simulations.
The development of community orchestras in the Waikato
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Fletcher, Olivia; Moffat, Kirstine; Lodge, Martin
Orchestral music in the Waikato has a long and rich history, although to date there has been little exploration of this. Indeed, research about musical growth and development in New Zealand is sparse and fragmented in terms of both time and geography. By focusing on a particular region that has yet to receive any attention, the thesis aims to redress this gap and also make a wider contribution to understandings of the transportation to and development of western music in New Zealand. In tracing the growth of an orchestral tradition in this region the thesis places this musical evolution within the context of a developing settler society that valued community music making as both a form of community cohesion and a valuable means of local fund raising and entertainment. In considering the development of orchestral music in the Waikato, the thesis is divided into two main parts, treating each as a case study but also drawing on the methodologies of ethnomusicology, history from below, microhistory, and oral history. Part One is devoted to the years 1864-1914 and in analysing this foundational period of musical development considers a large geographical area enclosed by Huntly, Raglan, Te Awamutu and Te Aroha. Part Two provides a detailed examination of one specific orchestra and community, the Te Aroha-Morrinsville Community Orchestra (TAMCO) which began as an idea in 1974 and continued for thirty years. Each part of the thesis draws on a range of archival materials. Part One relies on extensive use of Papers Past (1), as well as resources from local museums and Archives New Zealand. In contrast, the case study of TAMCO has myriad sources, including interviews with key figures, photographs, recordings, and minute books, and is used to test the hypotheses generated in the first half. While each part of the thesis is distinct, there are also similarities and connections, with the case study of TAMCO confirming many of the findings of Part One. My findings all lead to the conclusion that in order for an orchestra to develop and flourish over several years it requires a locally respected charismatic person as leader, generally but not always the conductor, supported by a team of volunteers convinced of the importance and value of the enterprise. Beyond this the orchestra needs to be relevant to its community, who then support it. This could be relevance in terms of fundraising for a specific cause, or from programming music that is accessible and relevant to that local audience. In this way the orchestra becomes an integral part of the community. By focusing on one region through the lens of two case studies, a nuanced and layered understanding of the development of orchestral music in the Waikato is revealed, an understanding that has parallels with other community musical groups in New Zealand and other settler societies. (1) Papers Past is a resource from digitised newspapers and magazines published in New Zealand from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

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