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Research Commons is the University of Waikato's open access research repository, housing research publications and theses produced by the University's staff and students.
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Item Bones | Iwi(Other, Hagley Writers' Institute, 2024-03-08)Poetry written at Kāwhia featured in issue 6 of The Quick Brown Dog Journal published by Hagley Writers' Institute, Christchurch, NZ.Publication Workload demands during ball-in-play periods: A comparative study of locomotive and contact metrics in professional male and female rugby union players.(Thesis, The University of Waikato, 2024-10-31)Title: Workload Demands during Ball-in-Play Periods: A Comparative Study of Locomotive and Contact Metrics in Professional Male for Female Rugby Union Players. Purpose: Rugby Union is a high collision-based sport demanding the best physical, technical, tactical and decision-making capabilities of players to influence success on the field. Various factors affect the ability of females and males to perform and meet the demands of match-play. This thesis was developed as a pilot study and employed an innovative design that examined and compared contact and workload metrics between female and male professional rugby players, aiming to explore differences in match play. Methods: Data were collected from 60 professional male and female rugby players, from two professional 2023 New Zealand National Provincial Rugby teams. All participants wore GPS units (Apex Pro Pod, STATSport, Newry, NIR). Each match was filmed and coded using a Sportscode video analysis software package (Sportscode 12.4.3, Sportstec, Australia), where contact and GPS metrics during Ball-in-Play periods were identified and recorded throughout the match. GPS and Sportscode data for each Ball-in-Play period for each match were combined in a bespoke software package. Differences between the sexes for each metric were analysed using Welch’s t-test with the level of significance set at P<0.05 and the magnitudes of the standardised differences were calculated using effect sizes determined by Cohen’s d (Hopkins, 2009, 2017). Tests for equality of variances, normality, and the examination of outliers were conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 27) and the few metrics that failed normality testing were log-transformed. Results: Males locomotive metrics (GPS measures) and impacts (accelerometer measures) were typically significantly greater than females showing large to moderate magnitude differences. On the other hand, contacts were often significantly higher for females with small to large magnitude differences. Conclusion: The differences between males and females were likely a combination of genetic differences, and differences in how the respective games were played, and the males in this study typically had greater full-time professional training support and resources. Due to these differences, altering female threshold standards for specific intensive locomotion metrics to suit the physical capabilities of females, may give more of an accurate representation of game demands. On the other hand, providing greater resources to female rugby union players for similar periods to the males may reduce the differences observed in this study.Publication From screen to soul: A study of digital tools connecting Hare Krishna youth with their cultural heritage.(Thesis, The University of Waikato, 2024-06-30)As human society advances in modernity, cultural traditions that provide meaning and inner fulfillment can become obscured. This study explored the utilisation of digital technology in educational settings to enhance the engagement of Hare Krishna students with their cultural heritage. It focused on exploring the balance between structured learning and the freedom for students to explore their interests and discover new aspects about their culture. The study was qualitative in nature, involving six students and seven parents. The students created digital videos that illustrated their lifestyle and culture, presenting tradition through a contemporary medium. The videos were presented at an evening event to their parents and the topic of incorporating digital technology to explore and present the Hare Krishna culture was discussed. Findings indicated that the children demonstrated significant intrinsic motivation, and the purposeful use of technology combined with clear learning objectives, enabled them to deeply engage with both the process and the content. The study also revealed the importance of personal interactions in educational contexts, suggesting that while technology serves as a valuable tool, it should complement rather than replace traditional methods of cultural transmission. This research contributes to the broader discourse on educational technology by demonstrating how digital tools can be effectively utilised to support the sharing of cultural heritage and facilitate dynamic connections.Publication Approaches to benefit sharing(Other, Te Kotahi Research Institute, 2024-06-01)Publication Spontaneous singing in early childhood: An examination of young children’s singing at home(Journal Article, SAGE Publications, 2020)Spontaneous singing is widely acknowledged as an important part of young children’s everyday musical experience. However, its fleeting and often private nature makes it difficult to study. Research into young children’s singing at home frequently relies on data gathered through parental reporting, and studies are often limited to small sample sizes. In this article, I explore the nature, extent and contexts of spontaneous singing among 15 three- and four-year-old children at home. Continuous audio recording was used to collect naturalistic data during the children’s normal everyday routines. This innovative method resulted in data that could be analysed quantitatively to provide a comprehensive overview of spontaneous singing in young children’s everyday home lives that has so far been missing from the literature. Analysis showed that all the children sang spontaneously. The singing behaviours they displayed were similar to those described in the literature, but contrary to some of the literature, the most prevalent singing behaviours were improvisatory. Spontaneous singing occurred during many everyday activities; however, the strongest influence on singing was found to be the social context in which it took place. The children used different ways of singing when interacting socially or when playing on their own, with most singing occurring when children were on their own, potentially unnoticed by adults.
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