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An E-Talanoa of the comparative and international education research field: Relational Vā–decoloniality in Oceania
(Emerald, 2026) Wright, Tepora; Fa'avae, David Taufui Mikato; Levy, Benjamin; Packham, Emma; Virtue, Katie Arihia; Watkins-Matavalea, Dassia
We align with Tuhiwai Smith’s (2012) critique of research as “one of the ways in which the underlying code of imperialism and colonialism is both regulated and realized” (p. 8). As emerging comparative and international education (CIE) researchers within Oceania, we recognize “the critical role that uneven power plays in the constitution of comparative knowledge” (Takayama et al., 2017, p. s3). In deliberately disrupting conventional academic formats, we adopted a dialogic and relational talanoa structure that foregrounds Indigenous Moana Oceania epistemologies and ontologies. This choice unsettles Western-centric norms of linearity, objectivity, and authorial detachment typically valorized in scholarly writing (Mignolo & Walsh, 2018; Smith, 2012). Rather than presenting knowledge as static and decontextualized, we adopt a flowing, reflexive structure that is responsive to contexts and centered around vā – the relational space – as an epistemic principle and a decolonial imperative (Johansson-Fua, 2016; Suaalii-Sauni et al., forthcoming). This format resists the dominance and privileging of Western academic structures and unfolds through sequences of e-talanoa, grounded in our distinct positionalities and experiences across Moana Oceania.
Indigeneity and indigenous peoples around the world: Expanding the intersections of business and society
(SAGE, 2026) Doshi, Vijayta; Paredo, Ana Maria; Bapuji, Hari; Spiller, Chellie
There is increasing acknowledgment of the distinct position of Indigenous Peoples in today’s world. The United Nations has declared August 9th as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples to promote and protect the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is crucial for attaining the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Historically, however, Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous knowledges have been largely dismissed and silenced in societies as well as business and management scholarship (Kamble & Kumar, 2025; Karlsson & Kikon, 2017; Peredo & McLean, 2013; Price et al., 2021; Walker et al., 2025; Xaxa, 2018). More broadly, scholars have documented patterns of systemic and institutionalized discrimination against Indigenous Peoples (Bastein et al., 2023; Colbourne et al., 2024; Turkina, 2026). Although the body of business and management literature concerning Indigenous Peoples has grown over the last two decades (Bastein et al., 2023; Cutcher & Dale, 2022; Peredo, 2023; Salmon et al., 2022; Walker et al., 2025), the intersection of business and society remains under-explored in this literature. Furthermore, business and management literature has paid limited attention to the Indigenous Peoples in the Global South,1 many of whom are not recognized as Indigenous Peoples (Doshi, 2026; Kamble & Kumar, 2025). We, therefore, launched this special issue to give further momentum to the growing body of Indigenous research and to expand the research to hitherto understudied contexts and peoples. Our call for papers for this special issue set out a series of questions that signaled the wide-ranging possibilities for research that recognizes the distinctiveness of Indigenous worlds and reimagines the role of business and society in advancing sustainable futures. Specifically, we asked: how organizations, governments, and communities can work toward the SDGs with Indigenous Peoples; how Indigeneity is understood, represented, and mobilized across varied colonial and cultural contexts; how Indigenous Peoples navigate and transform organizations, entrepreneurship, and leadership; how global disparities, intersecting identities, and regional specificities shape Indigenous experiences; and how appropriate, respectful, and innovative methods can deepen the quality of Indigenous scholarship. In this essay, we first discuss the conceptual foundations of Indigeneity by reflecting on the meaning of Indigeneity, focusing on its global framings as well as the misrecognition and misuse of the term Indigenous. Next, we introduce the papers in this special issue. To build robust Indigenous scholarship to further advance the aims of this special issue, we discuss what an Indigenous perspective means for business and management; identify future research opportunities; and provide guidance on writing, reviewing, and editing Indigenous research. We conclude with reflections on our experience in editing this special issue to further underscore that Indigenous values of care, collaboration, and community building are integral to building robust Indigenous scholarship.
Importance of stream-wetland refuges for kōaro populations: Are wetlands overlooked climate refugia for kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis) due to underestimation of their ecological flexibility?
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Kahotea, Josette; Burdon, Frank
Wetlands are widely valued in conservation and restoration, yet their ecological role when connected to lakes is often misunderstood in the management of freshwater fish. Rather than functioning simply as hydrological buffers for lake catchments, wetlands may serve as critical refugia for native fishes under increasing pressure from climatic variability and invasive predators. I investigated whether the spring-fed Millar Road Wetland (MRW), located on the margin of Lake Ōkāreka (Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes, Aotearoa), supports a persistent population of kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis Günther, 1866). A key objective of my research was to examine the mechanisms underpinning the potential refuge function of the wetland. By integrating year-round population monitoring, mark–recapture analysis, environmental modelling, and stable isotope analysis, I assessed demographic stability, predator limitation, and trophic structure of kōaro in this habitat. The MRW supported a resident, multi-cohort kōaro population exhibiting seasonal recruitment, positive allometric growth, and stable body condition across years. Mark-recapture data indicated close site fidelity and continued individual growth, while interannual comparisons demonstrated stable adult size structure despite evidence for variable juvenile recruitment. Other notable members of the MRW community included common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidianus McDowall, 1975) and kōura (Paranephrops planifrons White, 1842). Although juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum, 1792) appear to enter the wetland periodically, their occurrence was spatially restricted to upstream areas and may be strongly mediated by hydrological connectivity. Episodic dissolved oxygen minima and shallow, structurally complex habitat likely constrain trout residency and growth, while kōaro were able to persist in the wetland across seasons. Stable isotope analysis revealed strong trophic differentiation: kōaro were supported predominantly by allochthonous carbon, largely via detritivorous aquatic insects, whereas common bullies relied on autochthonous benthic production. I hypothesised that this energy-channel partitioning of the food web reduces exploitative competition and helps explain the coexistence of these two native fish species at relatively high densities. Together, these findings suggest that the role of the MRW as a refuge emerges not from absolute predator exclusion, but from a locally-dependent balance between hydrological connectivity, environmental filtering, habitat structure, and trophic organisation. Connectivity in the wetland is both essential and risky: it sustains demographic exchange with the lake whilst periodically permitting an invasive, non-native predator access, yet environmental harshness limits sustained trout establishment, and asymmetric tolerances allow kōaro to persist. In a climate-sensitive species such as kōaro, the persistence of a robust wetland population highlights the potential importance of small, groundwater-fed systems as dynamic refugia within invaded landscapes. Protecting and restoring similar wetlands may therefore play a critical role in safeguarding native freshwater biodiversity under ongoing climatic and hydrological change in Aotearoa.
Structural origins of catastrophic forgetting in self-supervised continual learning: A directional and curvature-based analysis of the learning signal
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Huang, Rucheng; Pfahringer, Bernhard
Catastrophic forgetting remains a fundamental challenge in continual learning, where acquiring new knowledge systematically degrades previously learned representations. While existing approaches primarily mitigate this by imposing architectural constraints or using data replay strategies, they offer limited theoretical insight into why and how parameter updates interfere with consolidated knowledge structures. This thesis proposes a structured analytical lens to examine the collision between new and old knowledge at the level of parameter updates, feature representations, and low-dimensional learning signals. Rather than introducing a new method, we seek to characterize the geometric conditions under which gradient updates pose the greatest risk to previously learned structure. Specifically, we hypothesize that forgetting is governed by the degree to which parameter updates project onto high-curvature regions of the old task's loss landscape, namely those directions along which the old loss function is most sensitive to perturbation. We derive a theoretical bound that isolates this curvature-projection term as the dominant factor driving representational forgetting, and empirically verify both the structural conditions under which this bound holds and its statistical relationship with observed forgetting. To ground this analysis in a concrete and mechanistically interpretable setting, we adopt SwAV, a representative self-supervised contrastive learning framework, as our experimental substrate. We leverage SwAV's internal prototype assignment process as a low-dimensional learning signal that faithfully reflects the underlying representational dynamics, allowing the theoretical bound to be expressed and studied in a tractable, interpretable form. Building on this, we further consider whether the second-order sensitivity structure of old knowledge, when projected into a lower-dimensional subspace, retains meaningful geometric differentiation between sensitive and insensitive directions. Our experiments confirm that such a structure persists at low dimensionality and that SwAV's learning signal selectively engages it. We observe that interference with prior knowledge is measurably reduced when the energy of the new task's low-dimensional signal concentrates along axes that carry less of the old task's curvature structure, rather than along regions of high coupling.
Bridging the gap: An exploration into the experiences and challenges faced by new educators and their mentors in Aotearoa New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Heng, Marnie; Peters, Sally; Carss, Wendy Diane
This research study provides an exploration into current beginning teacher mentoring relationships, with a focus on identifying the experiences and challenges faced by both beginning and mentor teachers. The purpose of this research was to identify key trends in data and possible implications to support the ongoing growth, consistency and quality of mentoring provided in primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. This inquiry not only focused on the beginning teachers' growth and successful transition into their new community of practice, but also on the support in place for mentor teachers to effectively meet the needs of their beginning teachers and provide quality mentoring. This study contributes to the field of mentoring research by providing a key focus on mentor experiences and perspectives in mentoring relationships that are limited in both domestic and international academic research. Situated in a constructivist paradigm driven by a ‘Communities of Practice’ (Lave & Wenger, 1991) theoretical approach, the design of the research was sectioned into two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a mixed method approach using a survey (N=24) as the data collection tool to analyse recent beginning and mentor teacher experiences. Phase 2 followed a qualitative case study approach allowing for in-depth investigation and analysis of the dyadic relationship between two pairs of current beginning and mentor teachers. Case study data were collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings from this data extend understanding of the inconsistencies in beginning teacher experiences by examining the policy frameworks and practical approaches mentor teachers draw upon. Key findings highlighted that even positive mentoring experiences were bound by the same challenges regarding a lack of support and structure surrounding the mentoring experience and dyadic relationship. Findings highlighted the lack of clarity in the current policy framework; minimal access and availability of professional development opportunities for both beginning and mentor teachers; and a lack of theoretical understanding of the principles underpinning the educative mentoring approach. These findings were grouped into positive impacts on mentoring experiences and challenges impacting the success of mentoring experiences, which were then discussed in relation to domestic and international research findings. The existing and proposed mentoring and induction programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand provide broad guidance, yet challenges remain interpreting policy into effective mentoring practices. This thesis argues that effective implementation of educative mentoring practices (Feiman-Nemser, 2001) necessitates a structured mentoring design. The implications of these additions would have significant benefits to the practical application of mentoring practices and procedures within the beginning and mentor teacher relationship. Further practical implications from my study including training and support, considered mentor selection, and stronger dialogue between universities and school communities of practice would contribute to higher consistency in the quality of mentoring provided nationally.