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Massey Research Online

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Accounting for nature – biodiversity reporting and accountability in public sector
(Emerald, 2026-10-29) Botica Redmayne N; Ahmad F; Ehalaiye D
“Movement to help us move forwards in life” : an exploration of meaningful movement and chronic pain through zine-making : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Health Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand via Distance
(Massey University, 2026) Martin-Ball, Emily Louise
Chronic Pain (CP) is one of the most widespread long-term health conditions globally, and its prevalence is expected to rise in coming years. Physical activity is widely promoted as a best-practice intervention for people experiencing CP, yet engaging in movement is often challenging, with pain itself acting as a barrier. Existing research narratives of what constitutes meaningful movement are largely shaped by biomedical perspectives, leaving limited space for community-led understandings. CP is also frequently misunderstood and difficult to communicate, contributing to its status as an invisible and sometimes dismissed experience. This study worked collaboratively with members of a CP peer-support group to explore how they understand, express, and use meaningful movement to live well with persistent and fluctuating pain. Using arts-based methodology informed by participatory-action tenets, the research centred lived experience and the co-production of a collaborative zine. This approach aligned with participatory action researchers’ commitment to democratising knowledge and enable co-researchers to articulate embodied, emotional, and relational dimensions of moving with CP which are often overlooked in clinical framings. The findings highlight how meaningful movement is constructed through everyday movement, reciprocity, identity, and connection, offering rich and nuanced understandings of movement within the context of living with persistent and fluctuating pain.
Ngāti kahungunu sub-tribal affairs and British socio-political ideals in the settlement of the Heretaunga Plains : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Wairau, Rāniera
This thesis argues that prevailing interpretations of the Heretaunga land purchases are incomplete because they marginalise Ngāti Kahungunu sub-tribal politics and obscure the role of imported British socio-political ideals in shaping early settlement. Focusing on the period from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and centring hapū-level authority and governance, it demonstrates that colonial interactions in the region were negotiated through complex local power structures rather than through the unilateral imposition of colonial control. The thesis further contends that enduring colonial narratives— particularly those concerning cannibalism, racial theory, an absence of women in prevailing historical narratives, and an attempt to form a national narrative that isolates New Zealand from colonisation and empire—have distorted historical understandings of society in early Hawke’s Bay. Re-evaluating these narratives reveals a more nuanced account of Māori political life and colonial settlement in Heretaunga. This thesis makes three contributions to the existing historiography. First, it offers the most sustained hapū-level analysis of the Heretaunga purchases to date, demonstrating that sub-tribal political dynamics—rather than individual rangatira decisions or Crown policy alone—were the primary determinants of how land alienation unfolded. Second, it recovers the role of women, both Māori and Pākehā, whose authority and experiences have been systematically marginalised in both colonial sources and subsequent scholarship, including figures such as Hine-i-paketia and Mereana Hokomatā Cannon within Ngāti Kahungunu, and Elizabeth Colenso within the missionary and settler context. Third, it connects this historical analysis directly to the contemporary socio-political experiences of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, demonstrating that the patterns established during the colonial period continue to shape land ownership, governance participation, and economic outcomes in the region today.
Formulation and characterization of coconut-based cream cheese : study of influence of starch and hydrocolloids : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Food Technology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Kolazhikkaran Pradeep, Pranav
Cream cheese analogue using plant-based ingredients requires the formation of a structurally stable matrix which can reproduce the viscosity and textural attributes similar to conventional cream cheese. Considering the functional properties and lipid content, coconut milk is a promising ingredient for plant-based cream cheese. But to achieve the properties associated with cream cheese, modifications using hydrocolloids and starch is necessary while using coconut milk. This study investigated the formulation and optimization of a coconut-based cream cheese analogue, while evaluating the effects of modified corn starch and xanthan-locust bean gum in product stability and functionality. Nine formulations were prepared using three levels of modified starch (0,2,5% w/w), and xanthan-locust bean gum combinations at 1:1 ratio (0,0.1,0.5% w/w). Assessments on textural, rheological, colour, storage stability and microstructural characteristics were conducted on these samples on day 1,7 and day 14 while stored at 4℃. Consumer sensory evaluation was conducted to identify the most acceptable formulation. The addition of starch and hydrocolloid to the coconut milk matrix during the production of vegan cream cheese helped to develop a firmer, adhesive, and spreadable cream cheese with a higher viscosity, relative to the control sample. The colour of the samples was comparatively unaffected by the hydrocolloid incorporations, with overall colour difference values ranging from 2.31-5.74. Microstructural observations of the samples supported the formation of a stable three-dimensional matrix while using starch and hydrocolloids in the formulations. Sample CCC (Coconut cream cheese) was identified as the most acceptable formulation amongst the sample, to be a vegan cream cheese analogue developed using coconut milk. Although it had lower fat% (13.7%) similar to commercial reduced-fat cream cheeses, it had spreadibility (53.1 N.sec), firmness (9.07 N) and adhesiveness values (-19.2 N.sec) similar to commercial full fat cream cheese with lower viscosity compared to commercial cream cheeses at 20℃. The results from this study can be used as an insight into starch-hydrocolloid structuring mechanisms in plat-based cream cheese alternative developments, and as a basis for further development of stable, sensory acceptable and commercially relevant products in this category.
Inclusive Places Accessibility Tool and Guidelines
(Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities, 2026-05-01) Grace-Stent M; Dombroski K; Conrow L
This tool has been created as a starting point for considering accessibility within the context of public and semi-public spaces. The intention is for those using the tool become more attentive to the perspective of those who face accessiblity barriers different to their own.