Welcome to Research Commons

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.

Communities in Research Commons

Select a community to browse its collections.

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Recent Submissions

Viability of automating the landing error scoring system using inertial measurement units
(Elsevier, 2026) Hamilton, Zane; Turner, Jessica; König, Jemma; Hébert-Losier, Kim
The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) is an assessment tool used for identifying movement patterns linked with non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries during a double-leg jump-landing; however, the LESS is scored by experts using 2D video recordings, which limits large-scale screening. This study explores the viability of using inertial measurement unit (IMU) data to automate scoring of 17 LESS items, using conventional machine learning model architecture. Forty healthy participants completed six jumps each, and raw movement data from three IMU sensors placed on the sacrum and medial-inferior aspects of the tibias were processed and segmented into the key phases of the double-leg jump-landing. A total of 218 jumps were used to train supervised machine learning models using various subsets of the processed dataset, including extracted temporal and statistical features. Performance metrics were extracted, and the best performing models for each scoring item were evaluated against a majority-class baseline classifier (ZeroR). Results indicated moderate improvements over ZeroR, ranging from 0.3 % to 22.5 %, with some models demonstrating limited recognition of the minority class. These findings provide a foundation for future research in IMU-based LESS automation, and improving the accessibility of movement screening tools.
Who teaches digital citizenship? Private actors, educational resources and individualising discourses
(MDPI, 2026) Estellés, Marta; Doyle, Andrew; Fraser, Zara
Over the last few decades, private organisations involved in the development of educational resources for digital citizenship have proliferated: from Google to Disney, from MediaSmarts to Common Sense. There has been, however, little interrogation (and therefore, investigation) of the underlying discourses of digital citizenship education that these organisations seek to transmit. In this article, we analyse the discourses of digital citizenship education from teaching resources developed by multiple global actors, including Big Tech, philanthropies, international organisations and professional’ associations. The analysis draws on our previous analytical framework of digital citizenship education that distinguishes between safeguarding, equipping, empowering and resisting educational approaches. The study shows the dominance of equipping approaches that emphasise the role of individual behaviour in the development of safer and more democratic online spaces and have little discussion or criticality with the role of governments and Big Tech in the promotion of such spaces. This approach is partially explained by the key role played by Big Tech in the funding and/or design of these resources. The article concludes with a call for critical teachers and educational scholars to challenge these discourses and to take inspiration from the few resources found that embrace empowering and resisting approaches.
Nurturing authentic indigenous voices in indigenous children’s and young adult literature: An Aotearoa New Zealand case study
(Bank Street College of Education, 2025) Daly, Nicola; Barbour, Julie; Joseph, Darryn; Price, Te Kani; Tahau-Hodges, Pania; Teepa, Kawata; Vanderschantz, Nicholas; Waitere, Eboni; Walker, Bryony
At the heart of decision-making in children’s literature is the publisher who decides whose stories are told and how (Encisco et al, 2010). There is some research concerning inclusivity practices in the children’s literature that we see in libraries, homes and publishing houses (Caple & Tian, 2022; Daly, Vanderschantz, Mitchell & Blair, 2025; Daly, 2021; Stagg Peterson & Robinson, 2020). There is, however, little work examining how the publishing process can contribute to increased diversity in children’s picturebooks, particularly in relation to Indigenous languages and cultures. International research shows that there is limited cultural and linguistic diversity evident in children’s picturebooks (Ka’ai-Mahuta, 2011; Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, 2022; Wissman, 2019). This lack of diversity has implications for literacy engagement and the perpetuation of social inequality (Caple & Tian, 2022; Adam, 2021; Tschida, Ryan & Ticknor, 2014; Wissman, 2019). Compared to non-Indigenous publishers, there are few Indigenous publishers of children’s literature around the world, and very limited research examining the publishing process in Indigenous contexts. Moreover, there is no empirical research to date exploring Indigenous publishing processes that ensure the representation of Indigenous language, culture and identities in children’s literature (Bradford, 2007; Sheehan-Bright, 2011; Stagg Peterson & Robinson, 2020). In this article we hope to contribute to a deeper understanding of Indigenous Children’s and Young Adult Literature (ICYAL) by sharing details and some preliminary findings of our three-year New Zealand Royal Society, Marsden funded research project. In this research we are exploring the ways in which Indigenous voices are and can be authentically represented in picture books, through a close collaboration with Huia Publishers, a multi-award-winning Indigenous publisher based in Pōneke (Wellington).
A multidimensional activity theory framework for human–computer interaction with Digital Twins
(Taylor & Francis, 2026) Adeel, Aleeza; Apperley, Mark
This article proposes a user-centered framework to address interaction and usability challenges in complex Digital Twin systems(DTs) through an adaptation of Activity Theory, termed Pyramidal Activity Theory (PAT).Despite the growing adoption of DTs across industries, designing effective user interactions remains challenging due to the diversity of application domains, where multiple models, stakeholders, phases, and operational scales are often distributed across heterogeneous software environments. These complexities can lead to fragmented workflows, communication barriers, and inconsistent interaction experiences. PAT adapts the framework to focus on interaction structures by explicitly incorporating users, tools (models), live Data, interfaces, and outcomes.The framework is demonstrated through two conceptual case studies.The first case study conceptually maps interactions in an advanced manufacturing environment, while the second demonstrates how PAT can inform the design of a prototype Digital Twin interface for industrial energy systems. PAT provides a structured mechanism for analyzing interaction pathways and translating socio-technical relationships into interface design considerations. Future work will include empirical evaluation and usability assessment.
Simulate your senses: Exploring the impact of sensory-focused episodic future simulation on subsequent memory in younger and older adults
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Wild, Mia J.; Devitt, Aleea
Episodic future simulation allows people to plan and prepare for the future. Previous research has shown that positive episodic future simulation can bias subsequent memory for positive details in overlapping narratives in younger adults, but not older adults. Therefore, questions remain regarding whether this simulation-related memory bias extends beyond emotional information to other core features of episodic events, such as sensory detail, and whether age-related reductions in this bias reflect a broader reduction in the influence of future simulation on later memory, or the emotional content used in previous studies. The present study examined whether sensory-focused episodic future simulation influences response bias for sensory details in later overlapping narratives, and whether this effect differs between younger and older adults. Younger and older adults imagined future events with a focus on sensory information, before later reading overlapping narratives describing how those events occurred. Recognition memory was then tested for sensory and emotion/thought narrative details. Sensory-focused simulation did not produce a more liberal response bias for sensory details in either younger or older adults. Instead, younger adults were more conservative overall, whereas older adults were more liberal overall, regardless of simulation condition or detail type. Our findings suggest that simulation-related memory bias may not generalise straightforwardly from emotional to sensory information. More broadly, the present study provides novel insight into the cognitive consequences of episodic future simulation by identifying a possible boundary condition on its influence over later memory, while also broadening understanding of how age-related changes in future simulation may interfere with the way imagined events shape later cognition.