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On the Fringes: Identity development for taitamāhine Māori in one secondary kura auraki
(The University of Waikato, 2026-09-29) Johnston, Emma; Berryman, Mere; Virtue, Arihia
Despite Aotearoa NZ’s progress in the last 50 years towards enacting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and realising educational success for Māori as Māori, remnants of colonial ideologies remain in educational structures, systems, pedagogies and curriculums. The intergenerational cultural degradation that Māori have experienced through 200 years of racialised and assimilative educational policies are being exacerbated through the current government’s educational reforms. This research shows that educators and schools have the power to and must pushback against the government’s systemic attacks on the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori identity. The strength of this thesis lies in the voices of the participants; the students, their mothers and teachers, which are presented through collaborative stories. Together they illustrate the barriers to positive tribal identity development for taitamāhine Māori as being cultural essentialism, racial micro and macroaggressions, and teachers not taking full agency to address these. The enablers to positive Māori tribal identity are identified as unfettered support and access to te ao and mātauranga Māori, positive peer recognition as Māori, culturally safe and responsive learning environments, and the conscientisation and agentic discursive (re)positioning of teachers to become agents of change. This thesis uses a metaphor of weaving to illustrate how a kākahu or cloak of self-sustaining positive tribal identity for taitamāhine Māori can be nurtured and woven through secondary education. When school leaders and educators power-share with Māori and listen to the voices of whānau, hapū, iwi, and work with Māori institutions and organisations within the framework of Ka Hikitia – Ka Hāpaitia, they can support the tribal identity of taitamāhine Māori to flourish. While this research focusses on experiences in one urban single-sex girl’s secondary kura auraki, the findings have implications for all schools and educators committed to addressing inequity in education.
Blue light as a performance enhancer: Impacts on decision-making, reaction time and agility in field hockey
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Irwin, Emma; Beaven, Martyn
Short-wavelength (blue) light has consistently been shown to enhance alertness and cognitive performance by stimulating intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells that activate arousal-related brain regions. Despite this mechanistic basis, its application as a pre-performance tool in open-skill team sport remains largely underexamined. Field hockey, which places substantial perceptual-cognitive demands on athletes, requiring rapid decision-making, reactive agility, and perceptual-motor integration under time pressure and physical fatigue, therefore, represents a theoretically appropriate context in which to examine whether these effects translate to applied sports performance. Chapter One critically reviews the existing literature on the performance demands of field hockey, the physiological and neurological mechanisms underpinning short-wavelength light exposure, and its established effects on alertness, cognitive performance and physical readiness. The review identifies a clear gap in sport-specific evidence, noting that while laboratory-based research consistently supports blue light as an acute cognitive enhancer, its translation to ecologically valid athletic environments, particularly open-skill team sports requiring rapid perceptual cognitive processing, remains largely underexplored. Chapter Two presents a randomised crossover study investigating the acute effects of blue light exposure on reaction time, reactive agility and change-of-direction performance in eleven competitive field hockey players. Participants were exposed to either short-wavelength blue light (~480nm, 6500K) or a placebo condition for 15 minutes before testing, with performance assessed using a reaction time protocol across four time points, a reactive Y-agility test, and a 505 change-of-direction test, each completed with and without a hockey stick and ball. A small-sided game provided an ecologically valid fatigue stimulus. Blue light had no meaningful effect on change-of-direction performance, consistent with its proposed mechanism of action on cognitively loaded tasks rather than tasks reliant on neuromuscular capacity. Reactive agility improved significantly within the blue light condition in the without-stick conditions (3.04s to 2.89s, p = .027), and reaction time decreased progressively under blue light from baseline through to halftime, associated with a large within-condition effect (d = 0.91) and a moderate between-condition difference at halftime (d = 0.60). A near-significant elevation in pre-small-sided game heart rate was also observed under blue light relative to placebo (128 vs. 117 bpm, p =.051). Chapter Three synthesises these findings within the broader literature, arguing that the convergent pattern across reaction time, reactive agility, and pre-exercise heart rate reflects a coherent picture of cortical arousal difficult to attribute to placebo response alone. Key limitations include sample size, absence of neurophysiological measures, and risks of poorly timed evening use of light on melatonin suppression and sleep. Future research should prioritise adequately powered and sex-stratified replication, dose-response investigations, and neurophysiological outcome measures to directly assess the cortical arousal mechanism. Taken together, this thesis provides preliminary but directionally consistent evidence that blue light exposure can enhance cognitively demanding aspects of field hockey performance, extending a body of evidence largely confined to laboratory settings into a more ecologically valid, sport-specific context and supporting its potential as a simple, accessible pre-performance tool in open-skill team sport.
Self-selected and control cadences: Considerations for calf raise test standardisation and interpretation
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Gutry, Noelle; Hébert-Losier, Kim
Background The calf raise test (CRT) is an endurance test commonly used to assess triceps surae (TS) muscle tendon unit (MTU) function. The CRT usually involves performing repeated unilateral concentric-eccentric plantar-flexor contractions to fatigue, with repetitions the primary outcome measured. The most common CRT cadence is 60 beats per minute (bpm), though varying cadences are used in the literature (e.g., 30 bpm, 40 bpm, 120 bpm, self-selected, as fast as possible). Recent research reported that changing cadences (30 bpm, 60 bpm, 120 bpm) significantly influenced several CRT outcomes, including total vertical displacement (cm), total work (J), peak height (cm), and peak power (W), but not repetitions. There is speculation that 60 bpm may closely reflect a self-selected cadence, which has not yet been explicitly identified in research. Therefore, the main aim of this thesis was to compare cadences maintained during 10 calf raise repetitions (CR10) and the CRT between three conditions: control (60 bpm), self-selected, and as fast as possible. A secondary aim of this thesis was to explore the influence of cadence on CR10 and CRT outcomes. An additional aim was to explore predictors of sex, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity levels (PAL) as potential influences of CR10 and CRT outcomes, with age and calf muscle training examined as additional potential predictors in the CRT. Methods This thesis contains two randomised crossover studies, with repeated measures designs. Study one focused on CR10 and study two on CRT to fatigue. Each experimental study was performed barefoot on the right leg, starting from a foot position of 10° incline (slight dorsiflexion). In study one, 35 healthy participants (16 males, 19 females) aged 19 – 25 years completed the CR10 at three randomised cadence conditions (60 bpm, self-selected, as fast as possible) during a single testing session, 15 minutes apart. In study two, 38 healthy participants (23 males, 15 females) aged 19 – 43 years completed the CRT to fatigue at three randomised cadence conditions (60 bpm, self-selected, as fast as possible) over three testing sessions, seven days apart. For both experimental studies, 60 bpm was the control condition, going up on the toes and back down to the starting position to the beat of a metronome, up in one beat and down in one beat. The self-selected condition required repetitions be performed at a pace that felt most natural and comfortable, whereas the fast condition required repetitions to be performed as fast as possible. The CR10 and CRT outcomes were recorded using the validated Calf Raise application, tracking vertical displacement of a black circular marker beneath the lateral malleolus. Descriptive statistics of CR10 and CRT outcomes were reported as medians with interquartile ranges [25th, 75th]. Mixed-effect linear models were used to analyse log-transformed CR10 and CRT outcomes, with multilevel mixed-effect Poisson models used for CRT repetitions. Stepwise regressions were used to remove non-significant predictors across models. Results In the CR10 experiment, cadence had a significant effect on repetitions per minute, total time, peak power, and displacement variability (P < 0.001), but not total work or vertical displacement (P ≤ 0.337). Median self-selected cadences (75.6 bpm) were 24% faster than 60 bpm, and median as fast as possible cadences (196.8 bpm) were 218% faster than 60 bpm. The fast condition reached the 10 repetitions in less time than self-selected (61%) and 60 bpm (69%), with self-selected completed in 19% less time than 60 bpm. The fast condition exhibited greater displacement variability (53%) and greater peak power (52 – 57%) than the other two conditions, with no significant difference in these outcomes between 60 bpm and self-selected cadence. Self-selected cadence ranges (minimum – maximum) were 48.4 – 129 bpm. Males generated greater peak power and total work than females (P < 0.001), with females exhibiting less displacement variability than males (P < 0.001). As BMI increased, so did peak power and total work (P ≤ 0.013). PAL did not significantly influence CR10 outcomes. In the CRT experiment, cadence had a significant effect on repetitions per minute, vertical displacement, displacement variability, peak power, total time, and total work (P ≤ 0.011), but not repetitions (P = 0.081). Median self-selected cadences (69.8 bpm) were 14% faster than 60 bpm, and median as fast as possible cadences (109.4 bpm) were 94% faster than 60 bpm. Median self-selected cadences produced less peak power (9%), total time (19%), total work (11%), and displacement variability (17%) compared to 60 bpm, with no significant difference for vertical displacement per repetition. Self-selected cadence ranges (minimum – maximum) were 44.6 – 121.4 bpm. Vertical displacement was greatest in the as fast as possible condition, with displacement variability being 29% greater than self-selected cadences. As fast as possible generated 29% greater peak power than 60 bpm and 42% greater peak power than self-selected cadences. Females generated less peak power and exhibited less vertical displacement, yet achieved greater total test times than males (P < 0.001). Individuals with greater BMI completed fewer repetitions and achieved greater peak power (P < 0.001). Age and PAL did not significantly influence CRT outcomes, whereas individuals who trained their calf muscles performed greater repetitions, generated greater peak power, had longer total test times, and completed more total work (P ≤ 0.017) than those who did not. Summary Results from the experimental studies show that varying cadences (60 bpm, self-selected, as fast as possible) influenced most CR10 and CRT outcomes. Additionally, sex, BMI and calf muscle training were identified as significant predictors of certain CR10 and CRT outcomes. Furthermore, results show that median self-selected cadences in the CR10 (75.6 bpm) and CRT (69.8 bpm) are greater than, but close to, the commonly used 60 bpm. However, the range of self-selected cadences in the CR10 and CRT suggest that larger differences in outcomes between conditions may exist at an individual level. Therefore, our findings suggest the continued use of 60 bpm as the test cadence in the CRT to provide standardisation and given its confirmed test-retest reliability until evidence can be provided showing repeatability of self-selected cadences.
Future global wellbeing assessment: Conceptual foundations, governance & artificial intelligence
(The University of Waikato, 2026) MacKinnon, Lewis; Weijers, Dan M.
This thesis examines how global wellbeing assessment might evolve in an increasingly globalised and digital society. It argues that, as wellbeing becomes a more explicit objective of global governance, a challenge arises over how it should be conceptualised and assessed across diverse cultural settings. Part 1 evaluates dominant approaches to wellbeing assessment, tracing the history to several key Western traditions in psychology and philosophy. It includes an argument against a bounded, individualised self being the foundational unit of societal wellbeing, and argues for societal wellbeing to be evaluated beyond the aggregation of self-evaluating individuals. It also explores alternative ontologies of who and what might be capable of experiencing wellbeing, and advocates considering views in which wellbeing exists not only within individual people, but also in the connections between people, in animals, and possibly in the environment more widely. It also argues for the importance of considering a wider range of cross-cultural ontologies in wellbeing assessment frameworks if they are to be used in global contexts, and the risk of ‘wellbeing imperialism’ if culturally biased views are applied globally. Part 2 explores a parallel trend of how technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way wellbeing is assessed. It explores the use of data from online platforms, large corpus analysis, and the use of sensor and wearable technology to infer aspects of wellbeing, like emotion and mental health. It speculates on how these may advance and be used to understand the wellbeing of society at scale, and may be incorporated into future wellbeing assessment systems in an increasingly digitised world. It evaluates both the promise of such systems and the risks, including privacy loss, bias, and misuse for corporate profits and government control. Technology and AI are presented as raising the stakes on the conceptual and ontological issues in Part 1. Overall, the thesis presents a broad exploration and synthesis of foundational concepts, ontologies, and technologies in assessing wellbeing, and forms connections across diverse disciplines and cultural contexts. Ultimately it aims to contribute to the discussion on the future of global wellbeing assessment frameworks.
The limits to corporate social responsibility
(The University of Waikato, 2026-09-29) Pagani, John; Barton, Barry; Alvarez-Jimenez, Alberto
This thesis asks what limits New Zealand law places on the scope of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It asks how far directors may go with shareholders’ funds, how they should choose between competing social and environmental purposes, and when shareholders or stakeholders can hold them to account. I conclude that CSR is concerned with outcomes for the firm rather than for society. New Zealand law adopts neither profit maximisation nor stakeholder theories of social responsibility. The entity primacy model means that the most important limit on CSR is the duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company. Stakeholder interests may be considered to the extent that they are instrumental to the company’s success. A firm may voluntarily pursue wider social and environmental stakeholder interests at cost to the value of the firm when its constitution or business context allows. Social norms and community expectations form part of directors’ duty to act in the company’s best interests. I show that stakeholders and their interests cannot be adequately identified. One consequence is that accountability for decisions and for outcomes may be reduced when stakeholder interests are considered. If a recent amendment to directors’ duties allows discretion to sacrifice firm value for undefined social outcomes, then corporate value will be affected even if the discretion is never exercised. I analyse theories that argue CSR is largely presentational and alternatively that existing legal tools can be used to make social responsibility commitments effective. By comparing those theories to examples of CSR instruments, I find support for both theories. CSR cannot be defined with sufficient precision to measure its effectiveness. Therefore, CSR cannot be shown to produce better social outcomes than alternative models such as regulation, and claims that investors can ‘do well by doing good’ cannot be supported. Stakeholders cannot use remedies in the Companies Act 1993, but anti-social behaviour may be reviewable and shareholders have remedies for decisions that are not rationally connected to the purpose of the business.