Masters Theses

Permanent link for this collection

The Masters Theses collection contains digital copies of AUT University masters theses deposited with the Library since 2002 and made available open access. From 2007 onwards, all theses for masters degrees awarded are required to be deposited in Tuwhera Open Theses & Dissertations unless subject to an embargo.

For theses submitted prior to 2007, open access was not mandatory, so only those theses for which the author has given consent are available in Tuwhera Open Theses & Dissertations. Where consent for open access has not been provided, the thesis is usually recorded in the AUT Library catalogue where the full text, if available, may be accessed with an AUT password. Other people should request an Interlibrary Loan through their library.

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 3128
  • Item
    Smashing the Patriarchy and Creating a Gender Equal Society Through Pay Transparency
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Hitchcock, Emma-Louise
    While the foundations for redressing gender pay inequality in Aotearoa (New Zealand) were established over half a century ago, significant numbers of women still endure gender-based pay discrimination (Parker & Donnelly, 2020). Historically and comparatively, New Zealand’s gender pay gap is small. However, this gap has refused to close fully despite significant societal changes over many decades and numerous labour market and policy initiatives targeting the gender pay gap (Frey, 2021). The literature has highlighted that legislation requiring employers to deliver pay and employment equity to women is essential if New Zealand is to overcome systemic discrimination against women (Parker & Donnelly, 2020). To end pay discrimination, it is also essential that the work done by women and men is valued comparatively (Oelz, Olney & Tomei, 2013). Gender pay gaps are influenced by social structures such as patriarchy, neoliberalism, capitalism, and colonialism that discriminate against women. Research has found that pay transparency is a tool to identify and address the gender pay gap (Baker, Halberstam, Kroft, Mas & Messacar, 2019; Bölingen, 2022; Frey, 2021; Obloj & Zenger, 2020; Reilly, 2019; Stanberry, 2018). If pay was transparent it would become more challenging for organisations to hide structural inequalities (Research New Zealand, 2020). This research aimed to discover what role pay transparency has in positive change by exploring participants’ perceptions of pay transparency and the gender pay gap. The purpose of this research was to answer the research question: Is pay transparency key to closing the gender pay gap? Primary research was conducted among Human Resource Managers, policy analysts and policy makers working in the public, private or not-for-profit sectors. Participants were actively engaged in work on the gender pay gap and advocating for gender equal pay. This study contributes to the developing knowledge of gender inequality and focuses on addressing the gap in New Zealand research on the gender pay gap and pay transparency. Overall, this study found that pay transparency is complicated. This is because of the multiple levels and complexities of gender discrimination within societies and organisations and the fact that pay transparency fails to address the root cause of gender discrimination. Pay transparency is an essential component and one of the tools in the toolkit to combat the gender pay gap, but it will not fix everything. Pay transparency is not significant enough to close the gender pay gap and needs to be combined with other tools or measures including pay gap reporting, auditing systems, policies, and procedures. Furthermore, knowing how to correctly implement pay transparency is crucial. Pay transparency is not a ‘simple’ tool (Frey, 2021), due to differing definitions, access to data, datasets with varying legislation, policy, dataset size, and varying regulations for public, private and not-for-profit sectors within different countries contexts (Chan, 2022; Lewis, Pathak & Galloway, 2018). Therefore, data collection across organisations and countries is inconsistent (Bölingen, 2022) and does not necessarily capture the information required to effect or bring about positive change.
  • Item
    Preparing for an Enterprising Future: A Multi-Case Study of the Role of Enterprise in New Zealand Schools
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Nagel, Sabrina
    The integration of 'enterprise' or 'entrepreneurship' education into global education systems has gained significant popularity over the past decades. In the wake of the global pandemic, these educational concepts have been recognised as instrumental tools for driving economic recovery. However, despite their prominence, the precise distinctions between the two terms and the potential benefits they offer to the student body remain inadequately understood and underappreciated. To address this knowledge gap, this study adopted a critical realist ontology and a constructivist epistemology to investigate how enterprise is conceptualised and promoted in the context of a New Zealand school system. A multi-site case study was conducted, involving interviews with teachers and principals from four distinct schools. Additionally, a student focus group provided student insights. Complementing these primary data sources, document reviews were utilised to supplement the research findings. The adoption of a critical realist perspective offered a nuanced understanding of the complex interactions between various factors influencing enterprise education, while the constructivist epistemological stance facilitated an exploration of the cognitive processes and educational practices that shape students' entrepreneurial skills and mindset. By exploring the practical implementation and perceptions of enterprise education in New Zealand schools, this study is a contribution to the existing knowledge base. The findings are anticipated to benefit educational policymakers, school administrators, and curriculum developers by providing evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of enterprise education initiatives in the New Zealand context and beyond. Ultimately, this research represents an effort to advance the understanding of enterprise education's role in fostering economic resilience and innovation, empowering students to become dynamic contributors to their communities and economies.
  • Item
    Kapwa: Cultural Values in Architecture
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Dumagan, Madeline Maligro
    This thesis investigates how cultural values can be used to influence design and architectural thinking. Architecture should not deny anyone – especially migrants and healthcare staff – caring and welcoming spaces and environments. How do we create architecture that offers care and support to the migrant healthcare workers who provide care for us? Set in the Greenlane Clinical Services Centre, in the middle of Auckland City, the site is an enclosed campus surrounded by eclectic urban neighbourhood. Throughout the years, the site has experienced changes which caused disruptions, stress and anxiety for staff, patients and visitors. Currently, the existing staff housing is still operating in a paternalistic style that does not accommodate the needs of contemporary migrant worker and their families. The essence of care, hospitality and community within the context of the Greenlane hospital has slowly diminished. Furthermore, as New Zealand is in the midst of a healthcare worker shortage crisis alongside the rest of the world. The thesis interrogates the opportunity of offering immediate accommodation for healthcare migrant workers and their whanau as one measure to alleviate the healthcare staffing crisis that New Zealand is facing today. Mapping and modelmaking are used as tools, catalysts and drivers for the design proposition and to interrogate the potential of manaakitanga (hospitality), kapwa (fellow being), paki-ramdam (feeling and empathy) and kagandahang-loob (inner nobility) in the context of architecture. The project addresses the practical needs of migrant healthcare workers but also aims to resonate with their cultural identity; promoting a sense of belonging. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to the discourse on the intersection between architecture and culture in the context of health and well-being.
  • Item
    Beyond Lewis Road: A Memoir of Grief and Solace
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Hewison, Hazel
    This research considers the communicative abilities of pop-up interactivity in an illustrative memoir of grief and solace. The memoir explores the complex experience of grief through an autoethnographic lens, employing a non-linear structure and narrative techniques in an attempt to emulate the fragmented nature of memory after trauma. Beyond Lewis Road traverses the journey following a loved one’s cancer diagnosis, aggressive metastasis and death. Through an exploration of theory and practice utilising Wortman and Silvers’ myths of coping with loss (1989) and Maddrell’s view on grief and bereavement as being “experienced and marked in space and time"(2010), the practice allows for examination of a significant place, the family home once deemed a joy and comfort, thereupon tainted by loss and sorrow. The work explores how the interactive and tactile qualities of pop-up can pull readers into a significant space, sharing memories and leaving an impression on people who may or may not have experienced grief themselves.
  • Item
    Making Your Way: Navigating the Hospital Campus Through Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Methods of Way-Finding
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Wilson, Emma
    This thesis embarks on a journey through design-led research to bridge intuitive way-finding practices and landscape architecture to enhance the user experience of the Greenlane Clinical Centre. By looking at Mona-nui-a-kiwa traditional methods of oceanic navigation, this research proposes a method of thinking about way-finding holistically and intuitively rather than relying on text based signage to navigate a landscape. The primary methodology for this research is design with a focus on using collage to reveal physical and intangible site conditions. Additionally utilising a strong visual language to familiarise the viewer with the context of the Greenlane Clinical Centre and effectively generate a sense of journey through propositional design. This project acknowledges that the speculative nature of designing for a complex site requires liberties to be taken in the proposal of any additions or changes to the existing landscape, thus the proposed design interventions are a suggestion of what an optimistic future for the landscape could be represented as. By investigating traditional intuitive navigation techniques, parallel to landscape architecture precedents, this research proposes an enhanced sense of arrival for the Greenlane Clinical Centre that invites users to self direct their healthcare journey and position themselves with certainty in the landscape. This thesis offers a transformative approach, intending to enrich the healthcare experience by fostering a deeper connection between users and their environment.
Theses are protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use:
  • Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
  • Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate.
  • You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis.