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Exploring factors that influence the use of the paediatric early warning system : A mixed method study within the paediatric inpatient setting at Te Whatu Ora Waikato
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Clayton, Tarryn; Heath, Samantha
Background: The paediatric early warning system (PEWS) was introduced as a nationally standardised tool in New Zealand to identify and escalate clinical deterioration in the paediatric population. Although the PEWS is implemented across the country, audit data at Te Whatu Ora, Waikato indicate that there is variability to adherence to the mandatory escalation pathway. There is limited research from the New Zealand context that explores the experiences of nurses using the PEWS in practice and what factors influence decision making when using the PEWS. Objective: To explore the factors that influence nurses’ use of the PEWS assessment tool and mandatory escalation pathway in a paediatric inpatient ward at Te Whatu Ora, Waikato, and to identify any educational requirements to support the use of the PEWS. Participants: Participants were registered nurses employed in the paediatric medical ward (E5) and paediatric surgical ward (E4) at Waikato Hospital. Thirteen nurses participated in three focus groups and 31 nurses completed a quantitative survey. Methods: This research is a pragmatic exploratory mixed methods design. Phase One involved three semi structured focus groups, with data analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2022) thematic analysis. The focus groups findings informed the development of a quantitative Likert scale survey used in Phase Two. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the surveys, and the qualitative and quantitative findings were integrated to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence use of the PEWS. Results: Five key themes were identified: Clinical Judgement and Experience, Time Pressures, Professional Responses and Communication, Unique Factors Presented by Children, and Adherence to PEWS and Education. The survey findings validated these themes, highlighting how workload pressures, communication processes, clinical judgement, and paediatric-specific factors influence nurses’ use of the PEWS. Conclusion: Nurses view the PEWS as a valuable tool that supports patient safety, communication, and recognition of deterioration in paediatric patients. However, the use of the PEWS was influenced by factors that include the balance between clinical judgement and mandatory escalation, workload and time pressures, interprofessional communication, paediatric assessment challenges, and documentation requirements. While participants felt adequately educated in the PEWS use, education alone was not enough to ensure consistent adherence to the PEWS escalation pathways. Successful implementation requires ongoing simulation-based and interprofessional education, organisational support, adequate staffing, and understanding how clinical judgement can be utilised with the standardised pathway. These findings highlight the need for a systems-based approach to improve the use of the PEWS and enhance paediatric patient safety.
‘Our resources were ourselves’: Women and grassroots survey research in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1960s–1980s
(Berghahn Books, 2026) Greenhalgh, Charlotte; Greenhalgh, Charlotte; Corbould, Clare; Anderson, Warwick
Māori and Pākehā women in Aotearoa built a field of grassroots survey research in the 1960s to 1980s that generated extensive survey data, transformed experiences of research participation, and germinated collective, feminist and mana wāhine (the strength and power of Māori women) research methods. The first grassroots social survey organization in Aotearoa New Zealand was established in 1966 to record the unknown lives of contemporary women. Leaders of the Society for Research on Women (SROW) met while participating in the parent-led organization Playcentre, and turned their skills in collective action to the project of improving women’s lives. This was typical of Aotearoa’s voluntary ecosystem, which trained women in prominent organizations focused on families, such as Playcentre (founded in 1948), the Māori Women’s Welfare League (1951), Parents’ Centre (1951) and Te Kōhanga Reo (1982). The progressive slant of each of these national groups lowered the barriers that existed elsewhere between family-focused groups and emerging feminist and Indigenous projects. As a result, New Zealand feminists engaged closely with motherhood and early childhood education compared to their international counterparts, while Māori organizers developed world-leading approaches to language revitalization.
Design and experimental analysis of an adjustable geometry vehicle with independent drive-steering for energy efficiency optimisation
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Shang, Ray; McGuinness, Benjamin
Agricultural vehicles operating in orchard and pasture environments are required to perform frequent low-speed turning manoeuvres on uneven, grass-covered terrain - conditions under which steering strategy and vehicle geometry are major determinants of energy consumption. Despite a well-developed body of mathematical models predicting these effects, experimental validation has remained limited due to the absence of physical platforms that combine adjustable wheelbase, adjustable track width, and switchable steering strategies within a single vehicle. This thesis addresses that gap through the design, construction, and experimental evaluation of a fully electric, adjustable-geometry agricultural robot platform. The vehicle employs four independent in-wheel drive-steer modules, each integrating a brushless DC drive motor and a dedicated steering motor, mounted at the corners of a reconfigurable semi-monocoque chassis. Both wheelbase and track width can be independently adjusted across three values - 400 mm, 600 mm, and 800 mm - yielding a full 3×3 factorial matrix of nine geometric configurations. Six distinct steering modes are supported: two-wheel steering arc turn (R = 1.5 m), four-wheel steering arc turn (R = 1.5 m), skid-steer arc turn (R = 1.5 m), two-wheel point turn (R = 0), four-wheel point turn (R = 0), and skid-steer point turn (R = 0). Motor current is continuously logged at all eight drive and steer motor channels via a dedicated data acquisition system, enabling direct electrical energy quantification as E = Σ|I|·V·Δt. Controlled field experiments were conducted on two terrain conditions representative of New Zealand orchard and pasture environments: near-horizontal grass (mean inclination 0.216°) and a steep grass slope (mean inclination 17.618°). On flat terrain, all nine geometric configurations were tested across all six steering modes. On the slope, three full-width-track configurations (B = 800 mm) were evaluated for safety. Experimental results demonstrate that wheelbase L is the dominant geometric parameter governing turning energy consumption, with strong positive correlation across most steering modes (Pearson r = 0.80-0.90). Short-wheelbase configurations (L = 400 mm) consistently achieve 25-35% lower turning energy than long-wheelbase equivalents (L = 800 mm). The globally optimal configuration - B600×L400 and B800×L400 in four-wheel point-turn mode - achieves a minimum turning energy of approximately 707-710 J, representing a 31% reduction relative to the worst-performing configuration. Among all tested platforms, B800×L400 (track width 800 mm, wheelbase 400 mm, B/L = 2.00) produced the most outstanding overall performance across both flat and sloped terrain, exhibiting superior agility, smooth and rapid manoeuvre execution, and excellent directional stability, including on the 18° incline. Skid-steering modes uniformly incur the highest energy penalties across all geometric configurations (3-25× relative to the optimal equivalent mode), and a predictive L²/B parameter is shown to capture skid-steer energy with high accuracy (r = 0.86-0.98). Four-wheel steering consistently outperforms two-wheel and skid-steering strategies, and the arc four-wheel steering mode exhibits near-constant energy (~1,016 J, CV = 14%) across all nine configurations, making it the most geometrically robust steering choice. On slope terrain, arc-path manoeuvres incur substantially higher energy (+38% to +98%) relative to flat-ground equivalents due to gravitational work along the arc path, while pivot-type skid-steering energy is reduced by up to 22% due to decreased wheel-ground normal force. A systematic rearward shift in axle load distribution is identified during arc manoeuvres on slope, with rear-axle drive motors carrying up to 2.7× the energy of front-axle motors - a mechanically significant finding for rear-axle motor sizing in slope-capable platforms. Bivariate regression models of the form E = f(B, L) are derived for all six steering modes, achieving R² = 0.70-0.98 and providing practical engineering formulae for early-stage energy estimation from geometric parameters. The platform, its instrumentation methodology, and the experimental dataset collectively constitute a validated experimental foundation for steering-related energy research in electric agricultural vehicles. The findings directly inform design guidelines for energy-efficient small-scale agricultural robots, with particular relevance to orchard and vineyard applications in which turning energy represents a critical fraction of total operational energy.
The care and cultivation of poisonous plants
(The University of Waikato, 2026-06-26) Berridge, Sandra; Chidgey, Catherine; Slaughter , Tracey
Set in London in 1932, The Care and Cultivation of Poisonous Plants is a historical crime novel centred on the murder of Cynthia Greenaway within the private residents' garden of St Mary's Square. While employing the framework of the traditional cosy mystery, the novel uses the enclosed community of the garden square to explore themes of female agency, trauma, identity, social control and belonging in the interwar period. The communal garden functions as both setting and organising metaphor. Interwoven throughout the narrative are extracts from the writings of the gardener, Brandon McSweeney, whose observations on cultivation, decay, adaptation and renewal provide a commentary on the lives of the residents and the unfolding investigation. Through this structure, the novel examines the interconnectedness of individual lives and the ways in which personal choices, social expectations and historical forces shape human behaviour. The narrative follows Gráinne Redman as she investigates a series of deaths linked to the square while confronting questions surrounding women's autonomy, reproductive rights and the gendered power structures of early twentieth-century Britain. The novel further engages with contemporary and historical debates surrounding eugenics, bodily autonomy and social conformity, exploring how individuals respond to trauma through resistance, accommodation or self-destruction. By combining conventions of Golden Age detective fiction with literary historical fiction, The Care and Cultivation of Poisonous Plants contributes to traditions of female-authored crime writing while reimagining the role of the woman detective as both investigator and advocate. The novel serves as the first in a projected series examining transgressive roles for women and the limitations imposed upon them within twentieth-century society.
Understanding the psychosocial impact of endometriosis-related persistent pain in Aotearoa New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Mouton, Estie-Lomé; Curtis, Cate
Endometriosis-related persistent pain is often understood through biomedical frameworks focused on diagnosis, lesions, surgery, and symptom management. However, persistent pain also has emotional, cognitive, social, relational, and healthcare-mediated dimensions that shape how pain is lived and made meaningful over time. This qualitative study explored the psychosocial factors, dynamics, and processes that shape the lived experience of endometriosis-related persistent pain among women in Aotearoa New Zealand. In particular, it examined how emotional distress, meaning-making, interpersonal relationships, social recognition, support, and healthcare experiences influenced the ways in which pain was understood, managed, and lived with. The study was informed by a biopsychosocial understanding of persistent pain and sensitised by feminist health perspectives on gendered pain, legitimacy, and healthcare dismissal. Thirteen women with clinically diagnosed endometriosis and endometriosis-related persistent pain participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were developed: “No amount of pain should be normal”: struggling to legitimise pain; Waiting in pain: care pathways, uncertainty, and the cost of access; Living with an unpredictable and invisible body; Carrying pain internally: distress, self-doubt, and self-compassion; and Making pain liveable: support, relief, and whole-person care. Together, these themes showed an analytic movement from pain being questioned, to pain being prolonged, socially managed, internally carried, and made more liveable. Participants’ accounts showed that persistent pain was not only endured in the body, but also negotiated through healthcare systems, relationships, social expectations, internal meaning-making, and access to support. The findings suggest that endometriosis-related persistent pain cannot be understood through symptom severity, diagnosis, or treatment history alone. Instead, it is shaped by recognition, waiting, invisibility, distress, self-trust, and the forms of care and support that help restore agency, participation, and liveability.