Tuwhera Research Repository

The Tuwhera Research Repository provides sustainable open access and archiving to a broad range of AUT produced research - theses, research outputs and datasets.

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Access status: Open Access ,
The Fundamental Violence of Physiotherapy: Emmanuel Levinas’s Critique of Ontology and Its Implications for Physiotherapy Theory and Practice
(University of the Western Cape Library Service, 2020-05-12) Maric, Filip; Nicholls, David
The fundamental role of ontology, epistemology, and ethics is widely recognised across the healthcare professions. Yet what is less known in physiotherapy is how ontology and epistemology potentially undermine the ethical intentions of our theories and practices. In this article, we draw on the work of 20th-century philosopher Emmanuel Levinas to highlight this problem. Particularly Levinas’s ethical critique of ontology and the associated notion of thematisation enable us to highlight a violence that takes place in the philosophical foundations of physiotherapy. Using the overarching aims of physiotherapy, the theory and practice of diagnosis, and the notion and enforcing of professional identities as examples, we additionally show how this violence consequently pervades physiotherapy theory and practice. By exploring a range of critical and practical implications, we finally show how an application of Levinas’s critique of ontology additionally opens toward an otherwise physiotherapy grounded in a renewed understanding of self, other, and their relation. With this, we hope to highlight the core value and critical need for a deeper engagement with the work of Levinas in relation to all aspects of physiotherapy, and particularly its understanding and implementation of ethics that is so fundamental to its practice and a cornerstone of physiotherapy education.
Access status: Open Access ,
Measuring the Working Experience of Doctors in Training
(Royal College of Physicians, 2020-10) Hockey, Peter; Vaithianathan, Rhema; Baeker, Agnes; Beer, Freddy; Goodall, Amanda H; Hammerton, Matt; Jarvis, Rosalind; Brock, Susannah; Lorimer, Larissa
Using an online tool, we report the association between tasks and 'affect' (underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood) among 565 doctors in training, how positive and negative emotional intensity are associated with time of day, the extent to which positive affect is associated with breaks, and consideration about leaving the profession. Respondents spent approximately 25% of their day on paperwork or clinical work that did not involve patients, resulting in more negative emotions. Positive emotions were expressed for breaks, staff meetings, research, learning and clinical tasks that involved patients. Those having considered leaving the profession report more negative feelings. Systematic workplace changes (regular breaks, reducing paperwork and improved IT systems) could contribute to positive workday experiences and reduce intention to quit. Educators and employers have important roles in recognising, advocating for and implementing improvements at work to enhance wellbeing with potential to improve retention of doctors in training.
Access status: Open Access ,
Positive Outcomes: Validity, Reliability and Responsiveness of a Novel Person-Centred Outcome Measure for People With HIV
(Wiley, 2022-01-11) Harding, Richard; Jones, Christopher Iain; Bremner, Stephen; Bristowe, Katherine; West, Brian; Siegert, RJ; O'Brien, Kelly K; Whetham, Jennifer; EMERGE Consortium, Horizon 2020
OBJECTIVES: Despite successful treatment, people living with HIV experience persisting and burdensome multidimensional problems. We aimed to assess the validity, reliability and responsiveness of Positive Outcomes, a patient-reported outcome measure for use in clinical practice. METHODS: In all, 1392 outpatients in five European countries self-completed Positive Outcomes, PAM-13 (patient empowerment), PROQOL-HIV (quality of life) and FRAIL (frailty) at baseline and 12 months. Analysis assessed: (a) validity (structural, convergent and divergent, discriminant); (b) reliability (internal consistency, test-retest); and (c) responsiveness. RESULTS: An interpretable four-factor structure was identified: 'emotional wellbeing', 'interpersonal and sexual wellbeing', 'socioeconomic wellbeing' and 'physical wellbeing'. Moderate to strong convergent validity was found for three subscales of Positive Outcomes and PROQOL (ρ = -0.481 to -0.618, all p < 0.001). Divergent validity was found for total scores with weak ρ (-0.295, p < 0.001). Discriminant validity was confirmed with worse Positive Outcomes score associated with increasing odds of worse FRAIL group (4.81-fold, p < 0.001) and PAM-13 level (2.28-fold, p < 0.001). Internal consistency for total Positive Outcomes and its factors exceeded the conservative α threshold of 0.6. Test-retest reliability was established: those with stable PAM-13 and FRAIL scores also reported median Positive Outcomes change of 0. Improved PROQOL-HIV score baseline to 12 months was associated with improved Positive Outcomes score (r = -0.44, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Positive Outcomes face and content validity was previously established, and the remaining validity, reliability and responsiveness properties are now demonstrated. The items within the brief 22-item tool are designed to be actionable by health and social care professionals to facilitate the goal of person-centred care.
Access status: Open Access ,
Development and Validation of the Mindfulness Meditation Practice Quality Scales (MMPQS) in a Clinical Population Using Rasch Analysis
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2026-09-23) Strohmaier, Sarah; Cayoun, Bruno; Shires, Alice; Medvedev, Oleg; Krägeloh, Chris
Objectives With mindfulness programs and practice research increasing, measures have been developed to assess mindfulness-related constructs. However, to our knowledge, there has not yet been a measure to examine the quality of mindfulness meditation practices. This study aimed to develop and validate the Mindfulness Meditation Practice Quality Scales (MMPQS) in a clinical population. Method The MMPQS consists of two scales: Concentration (śamatha) and Insight (vipassanā). Ten items were initially formulated for each scale. A total of 368 clinical participants undertaking Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MiCBT) contributed data, completing each scale immediately after the relevant practice on two measurement occasions; observations from both occasions were combined for Rasch analysis (Concentration n = 414; Insight n = 313). The Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to investigate psychometric properties of each scale as they represent two distinct dimensions. Results Best Rasch model fit was achieved after removing misfitting items resulting in six-item versions of Concentration and Insight scales. Both showed high reliability (PSI = 0.89–0.94), invariance across personal factors, and unidimensionality. Construct and predictive validity of the six-item scales were supported, with particular support for divergent validity, by correlations with relevant measures in expected directions. Conclusions This initial validation supported reliability and validity of the MMPQS as measures of Concentration and Insight practice quality, which can be utilized to support research and practice. Future research recommendations include testing the MMPQS in nonclinical populations, across more culturally heterogeneous samples, as well as other mindfulness-based programs.
Access status: Open Access ,
Beyond Storytelling: Reclaiming Voice and Agency Through Participatory Video Among the Sahariya Tribe
(University of Cincinnati, 2026-09-18) Sisodia, Renu; Conn, Cath
Participatory Video (PV) offers a transformative medium for reclaiming voice and agency among marginalised communities. This paper draws from a Participatory Action Research (PAR) doctoral research project with 72 Sahariya tribal youth in Rajasthan, India, which employed PV to document their lived realities of water scarcity and governance failures (https://youtu.be/AODuocliBOs). For the Sahariya, water insecurity is not only an everyday struggle marked by long hours of fetching water, seasonal depletion, and unequal distribution, but also a structural injustice shaped by neglect and exclusion. Through PV, youth were able to narrate these embodied hardships while also asserting representational control, cultivating technical and reflective capacities, and fostering intra-community dialogue. Moving beyond narrative collection, the study demonstrates how PV transformed individual testimonies of thirst into collective claims for justice. Emphasis is placed on the ethical scaffolding required for meaningful engagement— including readiness assessment, safety protocols, and context-sensitive facilitation grounded in respect, equity, and self-determination. Anchored in critical theory, anti-oppressive practice, and subaltern perspectives, the paper positions PV not merely as a method but as a praxis of resistance, relational accountability. It concludes by recommending the integration of PV with complementary participatory tools to deepen inclusivity and amplify impact in addressing water insecurity.