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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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Design, analysis, and validation of a custom planetary gearbox for a Formula SAE Hub motor
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Hies, Mark; McGuinness, Benjamin John; Lay, Mark C.
This thesis presents the analysis, design, manufacture, and validation of a custom in-hub planetary gearbox for use within a Formula Student electric vehicle powertrain. This work establishes a baseline for the transition from an inboard single power unit into a dual motor rear wheel drive architecture. Existing commercial transmission solutions were unsuitable for direct integration into a Formula Student platform due to their packaging limitations, excessive mass, and lack of optimisation for the specific operating case. The limited availability of documented Formula SAE specific solutions justify the development and validation of a custom gearbox solution. The gearbox was developed with consideration for manufacturability, packaging requirements, and future team integration. A stepped planetary configuration is used, achieving a gear ratio of 14:1. The design process focuses on the gear geometry selection, powertrain integration, as well as the stresses experienced through critical components under peak loading conditions. Experimental testing demonstrated that the gearbox was capable of operating under the predicted torque input of 8 Nm. The custom planetary gearbox was able to complete a full endurance length of 22 km fatigue test without structural failure or significant wear. A post-test inspection of the gearbox identified minor surface wear present on the gear faces with no evidence of any other damage to supporting components throughout the system. The developed prototype serves as an early stage foundation for future in-hub powertrain development within the Formula Student platform. With the gearbox validated, opportunities remain for improvement, particularly in the area of mass reduction, optimisation and long term durability validation.
The university experience that never was: First-time university students’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Makuch, Shannon; Jackson, Dr Kimberly
The COVID-19 pandemic had an unfathomable impact on the world, leading to the deaths of millions of people, profound damage to health systems globally, and the disruption of society on a grand scale. Universities were not immune to this disruption, and university students commencing study in 2020 entered an environment characterised by uncertainty, online learning, and a significant lack of social interaction. This study explores how first-year students in New Zealand who commenced their studies in 2020 retrospectively made sense of their COVID-19 pandemic experiences. This thesis addresses a gap in the existing research regarding university students’ own interpretations of their experiences of studying during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilising interpretive qualitative methods and exploring retrospective sensemaking through repeat semi-structured interviews and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this current study explores and illuminates the lived experience of five first-year New Zealand university students who commenced university in 2020. The thesis demonstrates how participants utilised memory and reframing in recounting their COVID-19 pandemic experiences. Participants’ stories highlight dynamic processes shaping their stories, such as temporally locating their emotional experiences in the past, simplifying what had happened, and attempts to seek closure. Reframing their stories, participants reposition themselves positively as adaptable and resilient, without naivety or complete closure. This thesis argues that the way participants chose to share their COVID-19 pandemic experiences enabled them to make sense of unprecedented circumstances and filter their experiences to preserve their sense of self. In addition, collective social narratives surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand provided resources for building their own sensemaking. However, the isolation participants experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have some persistent impacts on how they view themselves and their university experiences, including a tendency to blame themselves for issues that they had little control over. The thesis underscores the importance of foregrounding lived experience when considering future university responses to crises. This includes acknowledging the persistence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on some university students and what could be done to mitigate effects and support university students more effectively during and after future crises.
In-situ assessment of structural steel: Correlating mechanical properties using multi-modal hardness and Leeb rebound testing
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Htet, Wai Myo; Fang, Zhiyuan (Arthur)
The in-situ diagnostic assessment of existing carbon steel infrastructure often relies on non-destructive testing (NDT) to estimate structural capacity without compromising member integrity. This study investigates the reliability of multi-modal surface hardness testing as a proxy for macroscopic tensile properties in structural carbon steels. Specifically, Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers, and Leeb hardness measurements are correlated with the 0.2% offset yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of Grade 300 Universal Beams and Grade 350 Square Hollow Sections. To account for manufacturing-induced heterogeneities, 36 localized coupons were systematically extracted from varying spatial zones, including the web and flanges of hot-rolled profiles. Destructive uniaxial tensile benchmarking confirmed significant spatial variation driven by differential cooling rates during manufacturing, with the thinner, faster-cooling web elements demonstrating an average yield strength nearly 100 MPa higher than the corresponding thicker flange elements. This variation is consistent with the expected differences in thermo-mechanical processing and section geometry. Bivariate linear regression analyses revealed that predictive performance depends on the testing scale and measurement modality. For yield strength prediction, the macro-scale Leeb rebound method showed strong correlation (R² = 0.947, MAE = 10.49 MPa, MPE = −0.09%). In contrast, the Vickers micro-indentation method demonstrated greater predictive accuracy for UTS (R² = 0.847), indicating greater sensitivity to localized plastic deformation behaviour at higher strain levels. A key observation of this study shows that the reliability of dynamic rebound measurements is strongly influenced by testing boundary conditions. It was observed that uncoupled testing on thin structural elements (< 5 mm nominal thickness) induces kinetic energy dissipation via localized flexure, resulting in significant predictive variance. Consequently, operational guidelines are proposed for field assessments, indicating that rigid coupling for thin-walled elements, or the isolation of uncoupled testing to high-rigidity zones (such as flat flange elements), is necessary to maintain measurement accuracy. Ultimately, this research provides a preliminary framework suggesting that the portable Leeb hardness method can serve as a supplementary diagnostic tool for the yield assessment of these specific steel grades, provided appropriate testing boundary conditions are maintained.
Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand vaping behaviour on campus
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Liu, Jia Qi; Piercy-Cameron, Gemma; Starkey, Nicola J.
As part of the New Zealand National Smokefree policy, vaping is banned in public areas for example, public transport, schools and University campuses. Despite the policy and signage on campuses, like the University of Waikato, vaping behaviour still occurs. To understand the occurrence of vaping on campus, this study used the Theory of Planned Behaviour to examine how e-cigarette users’ attitude, their social groups' attitude and self-control influence their intention to vape on campus; and where on campus e-cigarette users choose to vape. The study included 152 participants who completed an online questionnaire, yielding 92 usable responses. The results showed that e-cigarette users with a more positive attitude towards vaping behaviour and lower perceived behavioural control (PBC) were more likely to plan to vape on campus. Results indicated that e-cigarette users who vape on campus and those who do not significantly differ in attitude, subjective norms, PBC. Results also suggested that people with longer vaping duration and more frequent daily vaping were more likely to vape on campus. The vaping spots where e-cigarette users were more likely to choose were the edge of the campus (76%), the field/lake (48%), walking on the campus (45%), public bathroom (38%), and student accommodation - bedroom (28%). Overall, this study indicates the importance of attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC in influencing vaping behaviour. This study extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour to address a gap in the analysis of on-campus vaping behaviour and offers new insights into the psychological drivers of vaping to inform efforts to mitigate its occurrence. These findings could be used to identify target groups and locations for promoting campus smokefree policy and designing educational campaigns to reduce vaping on campus and prevent vaping.
“We don’t have to carry the shame”: Autobiographical documentary filmmaking as a collective healing artifact for child abuse survivors
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Visage, Anthea; Perrott, Lisa; Schott, Gareth R.
Sitting at the intersection between autobiographical documentary theory and child abuse-related trauma theory, this thesis explores the wellbeing outcomes and impacts for child abuse survivors who create and view autobiographical documentaries that represent discourses about child abuse, intergenerational trauma, and healing. Adopting an anti-pathologising approach to trauma, this thesis explores and amplifies the historically silenced voices of child abuse survivors. Life is given to the underrepresented experiential accounts of autobiographical documentarians, with a focus on an uncharted community of practitioners: survivor-filmmakers. Further elevating survivor narratives, I position myself as a survivor-researcher, embracing an autoethnographic approach wherein my ‘presence’ remains integral to the research (Ellis et al., 2000; Bochner et al., 2016; Bochner, 2022; 2016). As a secondary research focus, this thesis seeks to understand what affordances survivor-researchers may bring to research projects that explore the experiences of child abuse survivors. A tripartite model for analysis of audio-visual texts frames the exploration, spanning three domains: production, text, and (potential) audience reception (Thompson, 1990). Trauma-and-violence-informed interviews were conducted to investigate the experiences of four survivor-filmmakers: Gwen van de Pas (Groomed, 2021); Tracey Arcabasso Smith (Relative, 2022); Jasmín Mara López (Silent Beauty, 2022); and Ginene Humphrey (Dandelions, TBC). Audio-visual methods of textual analysis, critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1992a; 1992b; 1998; 2001), and affect analysis (Rose, 2016; Tait, 2016; Plantinga & Tan, 2007) were applied to identify affordances and examine the discursive functionality of the documentaries. Interviews with wellbeing professionals were conducted to investigate the potential therapeutic value of the texts for survivor-viewers. Interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2022a; 2022b; 2019). Synthesising the findings across the three domains, the research reveals how autobiographical documentary filmmaking and viewing can function as therapeutic healing tools, affording survivor-filmmakers and survivor-viewers the ability to re/process, challenge and let go of shame – a central aspect of the survivor experience, perpetuated and reinforced by victim-blaming culture. The filmmaking process functions as a ‘platform of vulnerability’ for survivor-filmmakers, a double-edged sword where traumatic stress and retraumatisation can be evoked, and where shame can be challenged. Challenging shame occurs through therapeutically impacting other survivors, experiencing survivorship, and re/processing in a myriad of ways, which engagement with representational strategies helps afford (including reenactments to represent traumatic memories and the child self, animation to represent, connect with and re-parent the inner-child, and using ocean imagery and sound as a mode of cultural memory). Post-release, autobiographical documentaries about abuse and healing may function as ‘collective healing artefacts,’ taking on an immortal life of their own that leads to ongoing therapeutic impact for survivors. The concept ‘vicarious therapy’ is coined to encapsulate how survivor-viewers may vicariously experience therapeutic impact, such as gaining a sense of survivorship, and re/processing possibilities of traumatic growth. This occurs through the intertwined processes of witnessing and feeling survivors – the elicitation of memories and affect(s) – and how autobiographical documentary representations can speak survivors’ shared language of shame. In other words, they can authentically represent aspects of the survivor experience. Contrasting individualistic healing approaches that dominate mainstream therapeutic practice, the findings magnify the value of collective approaches to heal abuse related trauma and shame. Autobiographical documentary filmmaking, and cinematherapy utilising autobiographical documentaries, may function as tools of collective healing. Findings suggest the need to move towards shame-sensitive approaches to autobiographical documentary filmmaking, building on the trauma-informed guidelines created by the Documentary Accountability Working Group (2022).