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Improving our knowledge of snow leopard behaviour (Panthera uncia) through close encounters and enclosure utilisation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Moss, Phoebe Grace
There is currently limited information on the behaviour of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in wild or captive environments, or on the influence of close encounters on behaviour in captivity. This limits the ability of facility managers to design and evaluate habitats that fulfil the behavioural needs of captive animals, or to design and evaluate appropriate close encounter or enrichment strategies. The present study aimed to evaluate the behaviour of two snow leopard sisters (Asha and Manju) at Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo in response to the introduction of close encounters (Chapter 2) and to develop detailed behavioural time budgets and characterise habitat utilisation (Chapter 3). To evaluate the effects of encounters on behaviour, continuous video recordings from 12 encounter days (three per week over four consecutive weeks) were analysed according to a pre-defined ethogram, for the periods 1 hour before (immediately before guests' arrival), during (while guests were present), and 1 hour after (immediately after guests left) encounters. Behavioural time budgets were calculated from continuous video recordings over 12 separate days (four days per week from weeks 1, 3, and 5, including 2 encounter and 2 non-encounter days per week) using the same pre-defined ethogram. In addition, the cat’s location in the habitat was recorded (based on pre-defined grids). The cats’ behaviour differed during and after encounters, and with different enrichment presentations. Both cats spent more time interacting with hanging enrichments than with other presentation types. The percentage of time spent inside the dens (where enrichment was presented) before and after the encounters differed between cats, possibly reflecting differences in response to/anticipation of guest presence. Furthermore, Asha’s time spent interacting with the enrichment increased over the four weeks, whereas Manju showed no such trend. The behavioural time budgets and habitat utilisation were similar among both cats. Both cats spent a large proportion of time inactive, which is consistent with previous data from wild and captive felids, with the largest proportion of their time spent in the flat, elevated sections of the habitat. This research is the first to characterise snow leopard behaviour in response to the introduction of close encounters. Presenting food enrichment in hanging format increased the time spent interacting, possibly mimicking natural hunting behaviours. Future research should evaluate behaviour over a longer period to account for any acclimation effects. Although there were broad similarities between the cats in their behavioural time budgets and habitat utilisation, the identification of individual differences in some behaviours highlights the importance of considering and characterising behaviour at the individual level when designing and evaluating enrichments and close encounters.
“It’s been a good life” : a relational ecology of becoming in Otapiri, Aotearoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Frampton, Elizabeth
Near the end of his life, Malcolm, a rural Southland farmer, told me: "It's been a good life." Not long after, he died. This thesis asks what makes a life ‘good’ to the person who lived it, while exploring the researcher's responsibility when that person can no longer explain what they meant. What began as research into rural community change evolved over time into an inquiry into the conditions through which a life remains meaningful across profound transformation. Through oral life history and a relationship that deepened into friendship, I trace how Malcolm’s sense of a ‘good’ life was sustained – not through individual accomplishment, but through care accumulated slowly, redirected when worlds shifted, and dispersed into futures he would never inhabit. Drawing on Bourdieu, Tronto, Hage, and Biehl & Locke, I develop an analytic lens I call a ‘relational ecology of becoming.’ This lens attends to how dispositions rooted early – through family, place, and more-than-human relations – are sustained, and then reassembled as fields and viability transform. By using metaphors formed through the relationship and place – the rooting tree, the mycelial substrate, and the kererū – I argue that care is not lost through rupture, but is creatively reassembled and dispersed. These metaphors serve as analytic tools for understanding a life that remains unfinished: one where care persists beyond the individual, regenerating new growth in the wake of shifting worlds. Following Malcolm's death, the thesis also becomes an examination of the ethical afterlife of carrying a life story forward. It explores how obligation, grief, and relational asymmetry shape what can be told when direct reciprocity is no longer possible. The 'good life' that emerges in this story is relational and unfinished – a condition not of lack, but of continuation. It persists in recovering wetlands, trees not yet grown, and practices of care carried forward by others beyond the lifespan of the person who began them.
The effects of authentic leadership on worker engagement : investigating the roles of basic psychological need satisfaction and psychological capital in military and emergency services : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in (Psychology) at Massey University, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Brent, Alaina
Organisations are continuously in pursuit of improvement, whether that is regarding increased efficiency or profit, stronger outputs, enhanced outcomes, higher levels of wellbeing, or increased sustainability. However, these improvements rely on the people within the organisations making it happen. Research has shown that there is a strong link between leadership and worker engagement and explicitly between authentic leadership and engagement. However, the topic remains convoluted and mostly unexplained with very little research investigating specific pathways. This dearth of knowledge inhibits any pragmatic response to how organisations should be developing their leaders or increasing worker engagement. There is an even larger gap in research dedicated to exploring these pathways within emergency services and military fields even though the hierarchical nature of these industries generates a heavy reliance on leadership to produce desired outcomes. This study aimed to address this by examining how authentic leadership is related to engagement through basic psychological need satisfaction and psychological capital and investigated the possibility that neuroticism plays a moderating role. Two hundred and nine employees working in emergency services or military organisations were surveyed using an online survey and the data gathered was used to conduct several regression analyses to test the hypothesised models. The study revealed that authentic leadership was positively associated with basic psychological need satisfaction and worker engagement. It showed that need satisfaction was positively associated with psychological capital which was shown to be positively associated with engagement. It also revealed that need satisfaction and psychological capital sequentially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and worker engagement. Neuroticism, however, was not a significant moderator of neither the relationship between authentic leadership and engagement nor between psychological capital and worker engagement. This research serves as an important exploratory step towards assisting the field in demystifying the role that authentic leadership may play in increasing and maintaining sustainable worker engagement. Equally, it goes towards enabling clearer direction for organisations in military and emergency services sectors wanting to develop more robust, outcomes focused programmes that improve engagement through leadership development.
Fragmented chronologies : the simulation of memory in Station Eleven and Bangkok Wakes to Rain : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English, School of Humanities Media and Creative Communication, Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Andersen, Khârn
Non-linear narration within fiction innately encourages the reader to engage in the process of constructing a linear timeline of events in a text’s storyworld. This thesis is concerned with two contemporary novels that employ this narrative strategy – Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven (2014) and Pitchaya Sudbanthad’s Bangkok Wakes to Rain (2019) – and asks what effect the fragmented chronologies in these novels have on the reader’s understanding of key thematic concerns. My close analyses of these two novels are informed by existing critical discussions in narratology, philosophy, and psychology that focus on the representation of the human experience of time as portrayed within narrative. As it stands, current critical discussions of these novels rarely engage with this striking aspect of their narration, instead choosing to focus on their representations of anthropocentric apocalypse. I argue that this is a significant gap in existing research, which I seek to fill in this thesis. Via close readings and reconstructions of linear timelines for each of the two novels, I argue that both seek to simulate within the reader the experiences of time, memory, forgetfulness and trauma felt by the characters. As the reader seeks to construct their own linear timeline of events within each novel, they engage in a similar process of ‘sense-making’ as the characters do as they try to negotiate their own pasts. Thus, the experiences of recollection, amnesia, dissociation, revelation, and trauma are all felt simultaneously by the reader and characters, amplifying each novel’s key thematic concerns with memory and forgetting.
The effects of hydration status on post-exercise hypotension in healthy normotensive recreationally active adults : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Science, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Dixon, Riley
Post-exercise hypotension (PEH), the acute reduction in blood pressure (BP) following a single exercise bout, contributes to long-term BP reductions associated with regular exercise. The magnitude and duration of PEH are modified by individual and exercise characteristics, yet the effect of hydration status has rarely been examined. Hypohydration may amplify PEH by reducing plasma volume and venous return. This study determined the effect of hydration status on PEH following moderate-intensity cycling in healthy, normotensive, recreationally active adults. Nine participants completed two 30-minute cycling bouts at 80% of functional threshold power under euhydration and hypohydration conditions. Hypohydration was induced through 18 hours of fluid restriction, with no subsequent rehydration. Heart rate (HR) was recorded every two minutes and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) every five minutes during exercise, and BP was measured every five minutes during a 30-minute standing recovery. Urine specific gravity was greater in the hypohydration vs. euhydration condition (1.023 ± 0.002 vs. 1.009 ± 0.007, t-test – P = 0.004). Despite matched power output between conditions, a main effect of hydration was present for HR during exercise (P = 0.014) and recovery (P = 0.019). Post-hoc comparisons identified higher RPE with hypohydration at minute 25 (7 ± 1 vs 6 ± 2, P = 0.009) and 30 (8 ± 1 vs 6 ± 2, P < 0.001). The maximum reduction from baseline in systolic BP (SBP) was greater in the hypohydrated condition (-12 ± 3 vs -6 ± 5 mm Hg, t-test – P = 0.002), with no difference for diastolic BP (-8 ± 6 vs -8 ± 6 mm Hg, t-test – P = 0.965) or mean arterial pressure (MAP) (-8 ± 3 vs -5 ± 5 mm Hg, t-test – P = 0.138). Analysed as the change from baseline at each recovery time point, a main effect of hydration was present for SBP (P < 0.001) and MAP (P = 0.050) with greater reductions following hypohydration. Hypohydration produced PEH sufficient, in some cases, to induce orthostatic intolerance and syncope. As hypohydration is common in recreationally active adults and athletes, these findings carry practical relevance for safe management of post-exercise recovery.