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 ,
Access to Mental Health Services Among Pacific Young Adults in Auckland, New Zealand: Relational Navigation of Mental Health and Help-Seeking
(Auckland University of Technology, 2026) Topeni, Lavinia; Tautolo, El-Shadan; Rai, Meenal
This study explores how young Pacific adults in Auckland navigate the tensions between cultural beliefs, social expectations, and access to mental health services. Despite evidence of disproportionately high levels of psychological distress among Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand, engagement with formal mental health services remains low. Existing research has predominantly focused on structural disparities and population-level patterns, with limited attention to the lived experiences of young Pacific adults and the relational processes that shape help-seeking. Using a qualitative approach grounded in Pacific epistemologies, this research draws on the Ūloa methodology and the Talanoa method to support culturally appropriate, relational, and participant-led inquiry. Data were collected through individual Talanoa sessions with seven young Pacific adults aged 18 to 25 residing in Auckland. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key patterns and meanings across participants’ narratives. The findings indicate that mental health is understood in holistic and relational terms, shaped by interconnected domains such as family, culture, spirituality, and identity. Participants described navigating culturally embedded expectations of strength, silence, and collective responsibility, which often constrained emotional expression and delayed help-seeking. However, they also demonstrated agency in negotiating these expectations, actively balancing cultural belonging with personal wellbeing. Help-seeking emerged as a non-linear, relational process influenced by peer support, cultural alignment, and strategic decision-making. This study contributes to Pacific mental health scholarship by revealing that young Pacific adults actively negotiate, rather than passively absorb, cultural and structural influences on their mental health. The findings underscore the importance of strengthened education and dialogue to bridge intergenerational gaps in mental health understandings, thereby fostering shared perspectives between older and younger Pacific generations. Such efforts would enable open conversations that challenge silence, stigma, and shame, reducing tensions between cultural and social expectations, and supporting the wellbeing of young Pacific adults.
Access status: Open Access ,
Message Framing in Social Commerce Reviews: The Roles of Emotional Congruence and Perceived Authenticity in Purchase Intention
(Auckland University of Technology, 2026) Xavier, Darline; Le, Khanh
Social commerce has reshaped contemporary consumer behaviour by integrating social media interactions with e-commerce functions, creating environments where consumers increasingly rely on peer-generated reviews and testimonials when evaluating products (Hajli, 2015; Liang & Turban, 2011). Such content functions as a form of social proof by helping consumers reduce uncertainty and make purchase-related judgements based on the experiences of others (Cialdini, 1984; Hajli, 2015). Although prior research recognises the persuasive role of social proof in digital commerce, less attention has been given to how the framing of peer-generated reviews, particularly emotional versus rational message framing, shapes consumer responses and purchase intention (Zhang et al., 2018; Fernandes et al., 2022). This thesis addresses this gap by examining how emotional and rational review framing influence purchase intention through the mediating roles of emotional congruence and perceived authenticity. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study explores whether consumers respond to social commerce reviews through affective alignment, evaluative credibility, or both (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). A quantitative, between-subjects experimental design was employed across two studies using simulated Instagram-style cosmetics reviews. Study 1 involved 124 female participants, while Study 2 involved 143 female participants. Participants were exposed to either emotionally framed or rationally framed review content before reporting their emotional congruence, perceived authenticity, and purchase intention. The findings indicate that emotional message framing significantly increased emotional congruence, suggesting that personal and experiential testimonials created stronger affective alignment with consumers. Emotional congruence also mediated the relationship between emotional framing and purchase intention, demonstrating its role as an affective persuasive mechanism. However, emotional framing produced a significant negative direct effect on purchase intention compared with rational framing. This suggests that although emotional appeals may increase personal resonance, they may be less effective in supporting purchase-oriented judgement than rational reviews that provide clearer and more diagnostic product information. Perceived authenticity was found to be a strong positive predictor of purchase intention, but it was not significantly influenced by whether a review was framed emotionally or rationally. This thesis challenges the assumption that emotional content is inherently more persuasive in social commerce environments. The findings suggest that effective review-based persuasion depends on a balance between emotional resonance, informational clarity, and perceived credibility. This research contributes to social commerce literature by clarifying the mechanisms through which message framing influences purchase intention and offers practical insight for marketers seeking to design credible and persuasive peer-generated content.
Access status: Open Access ,
Factors Associated With Persistent Opioid Use 6–12 Months After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty
(Wiley, 2022-06-27) Kluger, MT; Rice, DA; Borotkanics, R; Lewis, GN; Somogyi, AA; Barratt, DT; Walker, M; McNair, PJ
Persistent pain following knee arthroplasty occurs in up to 20% of patients and may require ongoing analgesia, including extended opioid administration. A comprehensive secondary analysis was performed from results of a study that considered persistent postoperative pain in 242 patients who underwent unilateral knee arthroplasty using a standardised enhanced recovery programme. Opioid prescribing for 12 months before and 12 months after surgery was evaluated and converted to oral morphine equivalents. Demographic, functional, psychological and pain questionnaires were completed along with quantitative sensory testing and genetic analysis. Forty-nine percent of patients had at least one opioid prescription in the 12 months before surgery. Opioid prescriptions were filled in 93% of patients from discharge to 3 months and in 27% of patients ≥6 months after surgery. Persistent opioid use ≥6 months after surgery was strongly associated with pre-operative opioid use (RR 3.2, p < 0.001 (95%CI 1.9–5.4)). The median (IQR [range]) oral morphine equivalent daily dose was 3.6 (0.9–10.5 [0–100.0]) mg pre-operatively, 35.0 (22.5–52.5 [4.6–180.0]) mg in hospital, 12.8 (5.1–24.8 [0–57.9]) mg from discharge to 3 months and 5.9 (4.5–12.0 [0–44.5]) mg at ≥6 months following surgery. Predictors of increased daily oral morphine equivalent ≥6 months after surgery included increased average daily oral morphine equivalent dose compared with previous values (lag), increased body mass index and three or more comorbid pain sites. Persistent opioid use was not associated with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain (RR 1.003, p = 0.655, 95%CI 0.65–1.002) or WOMAC function (RR 1.001, p = 0.99, 95%CI 0.99–1.03) outcomes 6 months after surgery. There was no association between persistent opioid use and pre-operative quantitative sensory testing results or psychological distress. Pre-operatively, patients with a higher body mass index, more comorbid pain sites and those who had filled an opioid prescription in the last 12 months, were at increased risk of persistent opioid use and a higher oral morphine equivalent daily dose ≥ 6 months after surgery. Strategies need to be developed to limit dose and duration of persistent opioid use in patients following knee arthroplasty surgery.
Access status: Open Access ,
Are There Differences Between SIMG Surgeons and Locally Trained Surgeons in Australia and New Zealand, as Rated by Colleagues and Themselves?
(BioMed Central, 2022-07-02) Narayanan, Ajit; Greco, Michael; Janamian, Tina; Fraser, Tamieka; Archer, Julian
BACKGROUND: Representation of specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) in specific specialties such as surgery can be expected to grow as doctor shortages are predicted in the context of additional care provision for aging populations and limited local supply. Many national medical boards and colleges provide pathways for medical registration and fellowship of SIMGs that may include examinations and short-term training. There is currently very little understanding of how SIMGs are perceived by colleagues and whether their performance is perceived to be comparable to locally trained medical specialists. It is also not known how SIMGs perceive their own capabilities in comparison to local specialists. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between colleague feedback and self-evaluation in the specialist area of surgery to identify possible methods for enhancing registration and follow-up training within the jurisdiction of Australia and New Zealand. METHODS: Feedback from 1728 colleagues to 96 SIMG surgeons and 406 colleagues to 25 locally trained Fellow surgeons was collected, resulting in 2134 responses to 121 surgeons in total. Additionally, 98 SIMGs and 25 Fellows provided self-evaluation scores (123 in total). Questionnaire and data reliability were calculated before analysis of variance, principal component analysis and network analysis were performed to identify differences between colleague evaluations and self-evaluations by surgeon type. RESULTS: Colleagues rated SIMGs and Fellows in the 'very good' to 'excellent' range. Fellows received a small but statistically significant higher average score than SIMGs, especially in areas dealing with medical skills and expertise. However, SIMGs received higher scores where there was motivation to demonstrate working well with colleagues. Colleagues rated SIMGs using one dimension and Fellows using three, which can be identified as clinical management skills, inter-personal communication skills and self-management skills. On self-evaluation, both SIMGs and Fellows gave themselves a significant lower average score than their colleagues, with SIMGs giving themselves a statistically significant higher score than Fellows. CONCLUSIONS: Colleagues rate SIMGs and Fellows highly. The results of this study indicate that SIMGs tend to self-assess more highly, but according to colleagues do not display the same level of differentiation between clinical management, inter-personal and self-management skills. Further research is required to confirm these provisional findings and possible reasons for lack of differentiation if this exists. Depending on the outcome, possible support mechanisms can be explored that may lead to increased comparable performance with locally trained graduates of Australia and New Zealand in these three dimensions.
Access status: Open Access ,
Mechanisms and Mechanics of Bonding in 3D Printed Materials Systems Based on Traditional Mould Materials
(Prince of Songkla University, 2022-03) Selvaraj, Solaman B.; Singamneni, Sarat
Common material systems used for 3D printing of sand-casting moulds are often plaster-based sand compositions with typical limitations. Bentonite-based sand composites and associated binding mechanisms are well established in traditional foundry practices, but possible use of similar systems is scarce in 3D printing. The current research attempts this, considering bentonite-sand composites of varying compositions for 3D printing and evaluating the mechanisms and mechanics of bonding. Differing amounts of α-hemihydrate together with varying quantities of terra alba as the seeding agent are identified to be effective together with impregnation by sodium silicate and subsequent baking at suitable temperatures. The bonding in green state is achieved through gypsum crystallisation and assisted by terra alba as the seeding component. Sodium silicate soaking and impregnation increased the compressive strength notably (1.3MPa) from green (0.49MPa) and directly baked without sodium silicate impregnation (0.19), with almost 2.7 fold increase from the green compressive strength and 7 fold from the directly dried case.