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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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Improving the uptake of cervical screening among sexual minority women
(The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP), 2025-08) Ellis, Sonja J.
Current public health guidance recommends that everyone who has a cervix, is aged 25–69 and is sexually active undergo cervical screening. International research consistently indicates that the uptake of cervical screening among sexual minority women (e.g. lesbians, wahine takatāpui, bisexual women) is considerably lower than for heterosexual women. While many sexual minority women do regularly engage in cervical screening, a sizeable minority have either never been for a cervical smear, or if they have been in the past, they have not routinely participated. In a recently published research article (Ellis, 2024) fewer than half of the 206 sexual minority women who participated had regularly engaged in cervical screening. This is comparable to the reported participation rate of Māori and Pasifika women, indicating that sexual minority women may potentially be an ‘at risk’ group for cervical cancer.
The right to education and the resettlement and integration of refugee children in New Zealand: A legal perspective on the rights of refugee children
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Rantshilane, Yaone Refilwe; Breen, Claire; Chevalier-Watts, Juliet
This thesis examines the realisation of the right to education for refugee children in New Zealand, establishing the analysis within both international and domestic legal frameworks. It argues that despite New Zealand’s obligations under international law and domestic provisions safeguarding children’s rights, refugee children’s right to education is inadequately implemented and insufficiently monitored. While some measures exist, significant gaps remain, particularly the absence of a clear legal framework and a comprehensive, child-centred policy informed by refugee children’s rights. Adopting a socio-legal approach, the thesis explores the extent to which New Zealand’s laws and policies protect the right to education of refugee children. The analysis primarily uses legal methods, examining legislation, policies, and practices. Sociological and educational perspectives will inform this to enhance interpretation and contextual understanding of education for refugee children. The analysis is supplemented by empirical research to further illustrate how legal provisions interact with practical realities, demonstrating how law, policy implementation, and social contexts influence the educational experiences of refugee children. The thesis concludes that the inadequate realisation of the right to education is mainly due to the lack of a rights-based and child-centred framework within New Zealand’s legal and policy landscape. It proposes the adoption of a child rights-based approach that recognises the distinct interests and lived experiences of refugee children. Such an approach provides a holistic foundation for implementation and monitoring, ensuring that refugee children in New Zealand can adequately enjoy their right to education and consequently facilitate effective resettlement and integration.
Decolonising legal research: Developing legal theory to articulate Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms equitably
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Hasan-Stein, Linda; Toki, Valmaine; Morgan, Gay
Māori and non-Māori legal research paradigms in Aotearoa New Zealand are separated by a considerable theoretical knowledge gap. Māori knowledge systems are generally not well known in a non-Māori context. In order to bridge this theoretical knowledge gap jurisprudential studies need to address this gap from Māori and non-Māori perspectives. Doing so enables the development of decolonised legal research paradigms which allow for the sharing of knowledge from positions of respect. In this work, a new theoretical interpretation of legal research paradigms in our jurisprudence is presented, relying on an interdisciplinary approach to support these interpretive strategies. Beginning with the understanding that knowledge is empowering for both Māori and non-Māori, I foreground the epistemological character of decolonising legal research that supports Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call for research to be conceived differently and highlight the need for an integrated recognition of kaupapa Māori in the development of legal theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reimagining our laws as something more than ‘sovereignty’ is the first step in narrowing the current theoretical knowledge gap. I translate the broader language of colonialism into the more specific vocabulary of the criminal justice system, in order to make more visible the manner in which Eurocentrism permeates decolonising legal research and stifles the potential future social development of Māori. Since Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s call to decolonise research, significant progress has been made with regard to the inclusion of principles of tikanga Māori to guide legal research that includes Māori. However, transforming principles of tikanga Māori into our jurisprudential landscape is a complex task. It is increasingly recognised that understanding the key principles of tikanga Māori is not always sufficient and that a greater theoretical understanding of decolonising legal principles is needed. I will analyse theoretical features of research epistemologies with the goal of grasping the complex array of historically-specific practices through which particular dimensions of our socio-legal experience are produced. Finally, I will explore how an interdisciplinary approach enables us to link forms of subjectivity to forms of objectivity in a distinctively “cultural” way, by working through difference rather than against it, and by acknowledging as meaningful each law’s characteristic discursive formation. This work is written as an intervention in Eurocentrism, aimed at providing a fresh interpretation of decolonising legal research. On this level, the most important argumentative thread is the one that demonstrates how Eurocentrism can be read as a colonising tool, which deploys positions that marginalise Indigenous knowledge. By unpacking Eurocentrism’s complex meaning it is possible to refashion Eurocentrism to include the notions of “partnerships”, that value subjective experience over objective, and that, in reality, include “Indigenous cultural” qualities. This style of decolonising jurisprudence pushes strenuously for a legal paradigm shift towards a culturally safe space for all legal scholars, not just Māori; a shift that could encourage our legal theory to converge in a more holistic way. The most important argumentative threads are those centred on the inclusion of Indigenous arguments, and the emergent character of decolonising legal research categories such as whanaungatanga or relational accountability. This type of innovative legal interpretation offers the possibility for a new theoretical era for decolonising legal research.
Virtue in measurement: An interdisciplinary study of conscientiousness through Aristotelian theory
(The University of Waikato, 2026-03-27) McManus, James; Medvedev, Oleg N.; Weijers , Dan M.; van Zyl, Liezl
Virtues are traits that promote happiness, well-being, and the good of others. Understanding which traits constitute virtues has direct implications for education, character development, and well-being interventions. Aristotelian virtue theory remains highly influential, yet it overlooks conscientiousness, which is a trait that psychological research shows as one of the strongest predictors of life success, health, and longevity. This disconnect is not only theoretical: it means our approaches to character education and personal development may be missing a vital component. The overarching aim of this thesis was to investigate conscientiousness as a virtue from an Aristotelian perspective, bridging philosophical and psychological insights to better guide how we cultivate beneficial character traits. To address this aim, this thesis investigated conscientiousness as a virtue from an Aristotelian perspective by (1) developing a theoretical framework aligning conscientiousness with core features of Aristotelian virtue theory, (2) addressing limitations of current approaches to virtue assessment, (3) validating the Aristotelian Virtue of Conscientiousness Scale (AVCS) through Rasch analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and network modelling, and (4) examining how virtuous conscientiousness and its facets relate to one another and to well-being outcomes such as life satisfaction, positive affect, mindfulness, and virtuous gratitude. Across three independent samples from New Zealand and the United States (total N = 1,478), the AVCS showed strong psychometric properties, conformed to fundamental measurement principles, and was best represented by a multifaceted eight-factor model. Network analyses indicated that excellent behaviours were especially central to the virtue, and that mindfulness may buffer against excessive forms of conscientiousness. Virtuous conscientiousness was positively associated with life satisfaction, positive affect, gratitude, and Big Five conscientiousness, while excessive tendencies were linked to stress, anxiety, and depression. These findings advance both the theory and science of virtue by showing that Aristotelian constructs can be operationalised and empirically validated. The results provide a foundation for future research on character development and suggest practical applications for education, organisational contexts, and well-being interventions aimed at fostering virtuous forms of conscientiousness while mitigating maladaptive excess.
Violence metaphors: A cognitive linguistic study of YouTube breast cancer discourse in New Zealand and Pakistan
(2025) Malik, Sara; Calude, Andreea S.; Ulatowski, Joseph W.
Research largely takes a medical focus, overlooking thoughts and emotions. Studying thoughts and emotions reveals speakers' experiences. Many of us know someone affected by this illness. Understanding their language helps us grasp their experiences more deeply.