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- ItemLittledene’s Dominion : re-imagining Crawford and Gwen Somerset’s Oxford experiment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Brown, Julie VoilaCrawford Somerset’s attractively written Littledene emerged from a distinct social experiment in rural community education during the interwar years. An early study of its kind in New Zealand, the location in Oxford, North Canterbury, remained undisclosed at the time, hence the pseudonym Littledene. Crawford’s overall interpretation of the Oxford community is illuminated within his intellectual network which included his wife and educational collaborator Gwendolen Alley, academic supervisor James Shelley, and research associate Clarence Beeby. Influenced by ongoing debates in education and its place in social development, the group shared similar aspirations for education reform. As teachers at Oxford School Crawford and Gwen illustrated a sense of social dislocation from urban New Zealand and its greater society. Perceiving the Oxford farming community as detached from intellectual and cultural life, they creatively experimented with new ideas in community education. The Oxford experiment included an environmental approach shaped by the respective value Crawford and Gwen placed on fostering a sense of belonging within the Canterbury landscape. As a sophisticated blueprint demonstrating their ideas for wider social change, Littledene appears as a symbolic portrayal of the Oxford community. This thesis will demonstrate how far the Somerset’s projection of Oxford was influenced by a palimpsest of ideas introduced to them via the movement of intellectuals between Europe and the Dominion during the early twentieth century. Alongside archival sources, this critique draws on autobiographical material from Victoria University and audio-visual material from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision archive. The sources offer an understanding of the local and international forces that shaped Crawford and Gwen’s intellectual histories from childhood. Importantly, the sources provide a vista of the intellectual culture that informed the Oxford experiment as the product of a rich intellectual history within the context of interwar studies in New Zealand.
- ItemExploring consumer justification of overconsumption in live streaming e-commerce in China : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Marketing at Massey University, Albany, New Zealan(Massey University, 2025) Chang, YuanThe aim of this research is to explores how Chinese consumers perceive sustainable consumption and how these perceptions are shaped and enacted within livestream e-commerce environments. While sustainable consumption has gained increasing scholarly attention, most existing research adopts quantitative approaches and focuses on Western contexts, leaving a gap in understanding how sustainability is subjectively constructed and behaviorally rationalized in China’s rapidly evolving digital marketplaces. Drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews and guided by a constructivist epistemology, this study employs thematic analysis to uncover the layered understandings, tensions, and justifications surrounding sustainability in the context of livestream shopping. The findings from this research reveal that consumers often equate sustainability with product durability, frugality, and personal responsibility, but also experience internal conflicts when navigating entertainment-driven shopping platforms. The study highlights how platform features—such as interactivity, persuasive streamer tactics, and ease of returns—both complicate and facilitate sustainable decision-making. Furthermore, consumers adopt various rationalization strategies, including neutralization techniques, to justify overconsumption. This research contributes to sustainability literature by contextualizing consumer behavior in emerging digital economies and expanding the application of ethical consumption theories to livestream retail. Practical implications are offered for platform designers, marketers, and policy makers seeking to promote sustainability in e-commerce.
- ItemNavigating stigma & identity : lived experiences of neurodivergent (ADHD) young Asian women in Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Science in Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Zhu, IreneAmidst growing awareness of neurodiversity, research is scarce on how young Asian women with ADHD experience and navigate their identities within intersecting cultural, gendered, and neurodivergent frameworks. This research explores the lived experiences of neurodivergent (ADHD) young Asian women in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This study addresses a significant gap in the existing literature on neurodivergent Asian women in this context by using a qualitative, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six purposively sampled participants aged 18-25, who were all diagnosed as adults. Five overarching themes, with 14 subthemes, are revealed by the analysis, shedding light on the individuals’ evolving perspectives of themselves, their experiences with neurodivergence, and their cultural placement. These themes include the negotiation of neurodivergence in familial and cultural contexts, post-diagnosis identity reconstruction, family and cultural dynamics, and pathways to self-understanding. In addition, the analysis highlights the concerns regarding representation, identity, and isolation, underscoring the difficulties and possibilities for enhancing public discourse about ADHD and fostering a sense of community. The findings reveal a complex and frequently contradictory process of identity reformulation and self-discovery, influenced by several interrelated factors, including cultural expectations and gendered norms. Theoretically, this study advances our understanding of how culture, identity, and neurodivergence interact, thereby helping us better comprehend how participants construct meaning.
- ItemExploring the influence of media messaging on sleep during pregnancy : an interview study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Thompson, Alice (Ally)The influence of popular media on societal perceptions and practices of sleep, particularly during pivotal life stages such as pregnancy, pose a critical area of study due to the potential impact upon maternal health and wellbeing. Traditionally research has predominantly focused upon sleep deficits in pregnancy, particularly during the third trimester and the detrimental health consequences. However, there has been little research considering how sleep messages are disseminated through media discourses and received by pregnant women. This thesis explores how pregnant women both navigate and negotiate sleep discourses perpetuated by online media outlets, aiming to discern the interplay between media influences and internalised experiences. Furthermore, this thesis explores the wider social discourses which may affect pregnant women’s agency and wellbeing across this unique life stage which influence experiences of sleep, and explicit sleep behaviours. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 participants who were currently pregnant with their first baby, were over 18 years of age, and residing in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Reflexive thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the data, and five significant themes were produced, including: disrupted sleep and loss of sleep agency, navigating sleep advice and online media content, internalised pressure and heightened responsibility for sleep health, commercialisation of sleep and the pressure to fix sleep problems, and lastly coping strategies and resistance to sleep messaging. The findings underscore the negative impacts deficit focused media outlets can have in perpetuating sleep discourses upon pregnant women and their internalised experiences of sleep. Subsequently, highlighting the importance of understanding wider discourses which influence women’s agency and wellbeing during their pregnancy. Through critical examination of how women negotiate media representations of sleep in pregnancy, this research contributes insights into the existing literature on digital media and sleep practices. The conclusions drawn, emphasise the imperative for nuanced and supportive media narratives surrounding sleep in pregnancy. Such narratives are crucial in mitigating undue stress upon first time mothers and fostering empowerment among pregnant women to effectively manage their own sleep health.
- ItemExploration of the relationship between health-promoting leadership behaviours and employee job satisfaction and wellbeing within a New Zealand high school context : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Webster, EmmaThe purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives of a sample of secondary school teachers in Aotearoa, New Zealand, on health-promoting leadership behaviour. In particular, the aim was to understand the teachers' perspectives on what their leaders did to support their overall job satisfaction and wellbeing. Defined as utilising positive leadership approaches, health-promoting leadership is thought to be instrumental in influencing employee wellbeing and health outcomes indirectly by focusing on changing the working conditions of employees (Mokoaleli, 2022). This study aimed to fill a gap in the academic literature on understanding the behaviours that reflect healthy leadership within the New Zealand secondary education sector, as perceived by teachers. This study was based on the Job Demands-Resources model, employing thematic analysis of qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with seven experienced full-time secondary teachers in Auckland, New Zealand. Analysis of the interview data revealed an overarching theme of trust in leadership as a key factor in supporting teacher wellbeing and job satisfaction. Trust was established through regular and consistent check-ins such as conversations, meetings, and general catch-ups. Through these check-ins, teachers were able to grow, develop, and feel satisfied with improved wellbeing and a reduced likelihood of burnout. Outcomes from this study may provide further insight into how leaders can support individuals’ health and wellbeing, enhancing knowledge of the behaviours linked to positive outcomes of wellbeing and job satisfaction.
- ItemStudies of the life history of school sharks (Galeorhinus galeus) : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Ecology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025-09-26) Burton, Alex J. C.The school shark (Galeorhinus galeus) is a globally distributed, migratory species that was recently reclassified, globally, as Critically Endangered due to all but the New Zealand population having collapsed due to overfishing. Effective management and recovery of these populations is currently limited by a lack of accurate biological information, which is increasingly difficult to obtain due to the scarcity of school sharks throughout their range. By studying the last stable school shark population, located in New Zealand, the aim of this thesis is to provide accurate information on the biology of school sharks to better inform their management worldwide. Specifically, this thesis examines allometric relationships, inter-population variation in life-history stage transitions, intra-population variation in juvenile growth rates, extent of the transfer of elements from mother to pups, and the spatio-temporal connectivity of habitats important to life-history. To enable better standardisation of length data when combining datasets, the optimal model for converting between different length measurements of school sharks was first identified. After standardising length and life-history stage data, a novel Bayesian generative classifier model suggested that length at life-history stage transitions varied among several, globally distributed, school shark populations. A study of juvenile school shark growth across several regions in New Zealand (i.e., Kaipara Harbour, Tasman and Golden Bays, and the Canterbury Bight) revealed that somatic (increase in body length with age) and hepatosomatic (increase of energy stores in the liver with age) growth was consistent among regions, but body condition was generally greater in the Canterbury Bight compared to other two regions. Tracking the year-long, three-dimensional movements of large female school sharks tagged in the Kaipara Harbour with satellite tags showed these sharks dispersed to several potentially important reproductive and feeding habitats around New Zealand. Finally, nutrients and essential and non-essential elements maternally provided to developing young were likely sourced from those assimilated from the mother’s diet during vitellogenesis. This thesis has national and international implications for school sharks and other elasmobranch species, as it provides information and techniques crucial to better understanding the biology of species that is needed to inform more effective management and recovery efforts.
- ItemCommodities, donations, and moral contradictions : an exploratory study of the moral economy of a second-hand charity shop : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University, Manawatu, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Ackerley, Takoda F.Second-hand charity shops are ubiquitous in Aotearoa New Zealand, supporting numerous causes, from animal welfare to hospice care. Research on second-hand shopping, charity, and for-profit enterprises often focuses on their environmental sustainability, professionalisation, place within specific industries (e.g. global fashion), and desires to hasten their expansion. However, research into second-hand economies often does not investigate the structural realities of second-hand charity, with research in Aotearoa remaining sparse. Utilising participant observation fieldwork and participant interviews, this research investigated the moral economy of a second-hand charity store in Aotearoa. The study focused particularly on the gifting and commodity forms of second-hand goods, as well as the moral-economic complexities and contradictions within this context. I argue that second-hand commodities can become cyclical or regenerative, enmeshed in cycles of (re)possession, (re)donation, and (re)commodification, while also being continually rearticulated and ethically framed by shoppers, donors, and volunteers as gifts, with a constant dialogue between an item’s commodity, gifting, and possession forms. Furthermore, the ethical consumption of second-hand commodities, as routinely found in second-hand charity, significantly relies upon constant overconsumption of first-hand commodities, a structural condition that also underpins a potential for overconsumption by second-hand consumers. Although second-hand charity shopping facilitates and encourages the moral organisation of commodity transactions and gift relationships, offering an avenue for sustainable consumption, a critical examination of its structural requirements is necessary to truly develop sustainable and circular economies. This begins with understanding that its reliance on overconsumption and other factors of the capitalist economy ultimately limits its countervailing position within them.
- ItemShould trees be considered more important than roads? : an exploration of the impacts of development on Nature, First Nations people and Country : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Roberts, Glenda KathrynThis thesis investigates the intersection of mainstream development in Australia with the cultural and environmental rights of First Nations peoples, paying particular attention to a contested Western Highway development in Victoria and its impacts on Djab Wurrung people and Country. The research highlights how infrastructure expansion often prioritises economic growth over ecological and Indigenous rights, creating systemic barriers that marginalise both Nature and Indigenous voices. The removal of sacred Birthing Trees on Djab Wurrung Country for the Western Highway upgrade exemplifies this issue. These trees have long been central to the cultural and spiritual identity of the Djab Wurrung people, serving as vital sites for traditional birthing practices and ceremonies that connect generations to their Country. The destruction of these trees was executed during the COVID-19 lockdown in October 2020, raising questions about transparency and accountability in government decision-making processes that disregard Indigenous rights. The research adopts a political ontology approach to explore how Indigenous rights and the rights of Nature are intertwined, emphasising that this relationship is essential for meaningful reconciliation and decolonisation efforts in Australia. By examining the case study through a series of key informant interviews, the thesis reveals the broader implications of prioritising development over the sacredness of Country and the cultural practices of First Nations people. Findings show that five key barriers (power and control, incompatible knowledge systems, ignorance, inertia and racism) inhibit progress on achieving Country-centred policy, planning and development. Ultimately, I argue for the preservation of cultural and ecological heritage, which is crucial for ensuring a more just and equitable society that respects both Indigenous peoples and the natural world. Through this exploration, the thesis contributes to ongoing discussions on how to understand and work with Country, protect Indigenous rights, the rights of Nature and consider cultural heritage, racism, justice, environmental ethics, and sustainable development practices more deeply within the Australian context.
- ItemMovements and co-occurrences of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Stewart Island, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Shale, HannahOur understanding of the fine-scale movements and behaviours of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at aggregation sites is limited, yet it is central to conservation management and mitigating human-shark conflicts. This thesis examined traditionally understudied behaviours, namely individual variation in movements and sociality, to better understand the fine-scale habitat use of white sharks at Stewart Island, an aggregation site in southern New Zealand. Bayesian statistical modelling and social network analysis were used to analyse an acoustic telemetry dataset published by Francis et al. (2015), consisting of detections of 22 tagged subadult and adult white sharks by 15 acoustic receivers deployed northeast of Stewart Island during April-June 2011. The northern Titi Islands were a hotspot for white shark activity, with the highest estimated probability of occurrence (0.60) and accounting afor 89.4% of co-occurrences. Chapter 2 revealed substantial individual variation in movement patterns, with sharks exhibiting unique ‘preferences’ towards particular receivers, possibly a result of size-related behaviours like variable feeding strategies and competitive exclusion. Chapter 3 found no clear social structure and weak associations among white sharks in this study, indicating that behaviour at aggregation sites is not socially driven. That said, sharks with greater differences in body size tended to form stronger associations. This is possibly a result of smaller sharks, being considered less adept to hunting pinnipeds, associating with larger and more experienced conspecifics to exploit successful kills or to benefit from social learning. Both chapters also identified the potential influence of shark cage diving operations on the occurrences and co-occurrences of white sharks at the northern Titi Islands, particularly East Edwards Island. This thesis highlights the importance of considering white shark behaviour to obtain accurate predictions and estimates of their distribution and abundance. Incorporating measures for individual variation substantially improved model predictions of shark occurrence, and studying sociality revealed aggregations of up to seven individuals at Edwards Island. As aggregations increase the risks of fisheries-related mortality, Edwards Island should be considered for conservation efforts, such as seasonal fishing restrictions. This thesis also recommends the inclusion of individual variation in ecological modelling and further investigation of social behaviour.
- ItemOptimising pre-incubation time and comparing sterility methods for the detection of thermophilic bacteria in UHT dairy products : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Biological Sciences) at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025) Warren, JulieGlobally, UHT milk and UHT dairy products are an important source of nutrition and therefore have the requirement to be safe for consumption. Commercial sterility testing of these products ensures their safety and reduces reputational/financial losses for the dairy companies. However, temperature abuse during storage and transport has been highlighted as a concern due to potential spoilage effects from possible thermophilic contamination. Traditional commercial sterility testing methods, established by governing bodies, are time-consuming and labour-intensive, and they are not within the boundary of rapid food testing. This study compared two rapid methods: the commercially available Charm Epic ATP bioluminescence method and a flow cytometry method (newly developed as part of this study), with the traditional plate method, for assessing the commercial sterility of UHT dairy products when contaminated with low numbers of obligate thermophiles. Four different UHT product types were investigated (milk, in-house cream, whipping cream and a medical beverage). In addition, the effect of shortening the UHT pack pre-incubation time on method performance was investigated. For instance, pre-incubation times of 6-24 hours were compared with 48 hours. It was found that a pre-incubation time of 48 hours had only 50% agreement when comparing the ATP bioluminescence method with the plate reference method when measuring UHT milk. Whereas pre-incubation times of 6-24 hours had >95% agreement, thus greatly improving the performance of the ATP bioluminescence method. With UHT milk, the flow cytometry method had >95% agreement with the plate method at all pre-incubation times tested, however overall, the readings tended to be highest at 24 hours, indicating that a 24 hour pre-incubation time would have the lowest chance of a false negative result. Neither the ATP bioluminescence nor the flow cytometry method had acceptable agreement (i.e. ≥95%) with plate counting when measuring the in-house cream or medical beverage products, regardless of the pre-incubation time. Thus, it was concluded that the plate count method would be most appropriate for these matrices. Given these findings, an adjusted approach was applied to improve the performance of the flow cytometry method when analysing the whipping cream product. Firstly, additional sample preparation was used which involved mixing samples with a cation chelator, followed by centrifugation to obtain a bacterial pellet, assisting the extraction of the bacteria from the matrix. Secondly, the gate to capture the live bacterial cells on the flow cytometry plots was positioned further away from the non-bacterial background particles. These two approaches prevented the spillover of non-bacterial particles into the live gate, thereby preventing false positive results, and improving method sensitivity. This resulted in >95% agreement between the flow cytometry method and the plate method, at all pre-incubation times tested with the whipping cream. Furthermore, this contrasted results with the ATP bioluminescence method, where the highest agreement achieved was 44%, with the whipping cream. As UHT milk is the most common type of UHT dairy product, the shorter pre-incubation time in commercial sterility testing identified in this study would be highly beneficial to dairy companies, particularly when using methods alternative to the plate method. Not only would a shorter pre incubation time have potential to improve the performance of the method, but it would also allow for a faster turnaround time. There needs to be recognition of the rapid transition into the death phase of the thermophilic bacterial growth cycle, as this has potential to impact rapid testing methods, such as those that measure ATP. These findings may be adopted into industry standards and regulations in the future.
