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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Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Defending the Candid Gaze: Theory, the Archive, and Depolicing Street Photography
(The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2024-07-16) Mountfort, Paul
Since practically the dawn of photography, there have been concerns over street photography’s invasive and potentially exploitive nature, from late nineteenth-century tropes of pests and “sneaky characters” trailing women in public parks to more recent panics over “camera fiends” and even state security warnings of the need to be vigilant of photographers potentially casing infrastructure for terrorist attacks. This article argues, using potted history and critical theory, that such straw-man arguments distract from the real dangers that the policing and curtailment of public photography pose, characteristic, as they are, of authoritarian regimes where control over taking and circulating images is an integral part of oppressive state and corporate apparatuses. Street photography’s implicit role in the construction of an archive of aesthetic and documentary value can be understood as a type of resistance to such threatened microfascisms.
Access status: Open Access ,
E–Talanoa as an Online Research Method: Extending Vā–Relations Across Spaces
(SAGE Publications, 2022-08-27) Fa‘avae, David Taufui Mikato; Faleolo, Ruth (Lute); Havea, ‘Elisapesi Hepi; Enari, Dion; Wright, Tepora; Chand, Alvin
Talanoa (Moana-centred orality) is a widely used Indigenous Pacific discursive approach within research contexts across the diaspora. In a globalised and technologically enhanced era, the online space continues to shape Moana (Oceania) peoples’ talanoa engagement and communication. e–talanoa in this article is an extension of talanoa research engagement and practice. We unpack the contexts in which e–talanoa is negotiated and made sense, and employ talanoa–vā (relational sense-making and meaning-making) as a critical analytical framework for interrogating and unpacking the complexities associated with e–talanoa as a Moana–Pacific research praxis. e–talanoa considers our current post–covid research space and how Pacific researchers navigate their ethical vā–relations within the temporal–spatial and physical–online boundaries that govern meaningful research undertakings. Being open about the challenges enables further understanding of the dynamic and fluid, yet contextually grounded spaces in which e–talanoa as a method can be realised.
Access status: Open Access ,
Health Under Haze: Symptom Burden Among Adult Outpatients During the 2024–2025 Winter Smog Season in Lahore, Pakistan
(Wiley, 2026-08-17) Ali, MAF; Iftikhar, B; Haider, SZ; Ikram, A; Masood, A; Ali, G; Wilkie, ED; Alao, JO
Background: Severe urban air pollution is a major public health challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Lahore experiences recurrent winter smog episodes with pollution levels far exceeding international guidelines, but hospital-based evidence on associated symptom burden remains limited. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 400 adult outpatients attending a tertiary hospital in Lahore between October 2024 and January 2025, during a period of sustained severe air pollution. A structured questionnaire collected data on demographic characteristics, behavioural factors, occupational exposure proxies, medical history and respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms. Symptom burden was analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression models, including an exploratory composite vulnerability index. City-level air quality index (AQI), PM<inf>2.5</inf>, PM<inf>10</inf>, carbon monoxide (CO), and temperature data were summarised relative to World Health Organization guidelines to contextualise environmental conditions. Results: In this health-seeking outpatient sample, 98% of participants reported at least one symptom. The most common complaints were shortness of breath (74%), eye irritation (56%), cough (53%) and sore throat (50%). PM<inf>2.5</inf> and PM<inf>10</inf> exceeded WHO 24-h guideline values on all monitored days. Mean AQI was 180, mean PM<inf>2.5</inf> was 96 µg/m<sup>3</sup>, and mean CO was 979, indicating sustained multi-pollutant exposure. Higher cumulative vulnerability was associated with greater symptom counts (p < 0.01), and current smoking was associated with increased symptom burden (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.15, 95% CI 1.00-1.32). Routine mask use was not significantly associated with lower symptom burden (IRR 0.96, 95% CI 0.84-1.09). Perceived worsening air quality showed limited concordance with vulnerability and symptom patterns. Conclusion: During Lahore's 2024–2025 winter smog season, adult outpatients reported substantial multisystem symptom burden. These findings support strengthened environmental control measures and public health responses in heavily polluted urban settings.
Access status: Open Access ,
Beyond Representation: Tokenism and Epistemic Justice in Nursing Research
(Wiley, 2026-08-31) Jackson, Debra; Power, Tamara; Smallwood, Reakeeta; Moorley, Calvin; Wilson, Denise; West, Roianne; Jones, Debra; McCormack, Brendan
Tokenism has become an increasingly visible feature of contemporary research and scholarship, particularly in contexts where expectations of diversity and inclusion are institutionally embedded. While often presented as evidence of progress, tokenism raises critical questions about power, participation and the conditions under which knowledge is produced. Tokenism is more than simply a failure of inclusion, it is a functional feature of contemporary research systems, enabling the appearance of equity while preserving existing distributions of power. This paper examines tokenism as a form of inclusion that is more symbolic than substantive, projecting an image of progress while leaving existing hierarchies intact. We argue that tokenism in nursing research is not simply a problem of representation, but a form of epistemic injustice that shapes who participates, whose contributions are recognised and what knowledge is legitimised. In doing so, tokenism can obscure expertise, distort perceptions of competence and position individuals as representatives of identity rather than as authoritative contributors. These dynamics have ethical and epistemic consequences, including the reproduction of marginalisation, the generation of partial knowledge and the erosion of trust. Addressing tokenism requires a reorientation towards collaborative and justice-oriented practices in which participation and epistemic authority is shared.
Access status: Open Access ,
Stability of Phytochemicals in Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower Seeds Using Ethanol Extraction
(Academy of Sciences Malaysia, 2026-08-11) Nurul-Umirah, Azmi; F. M. N. A., Aida; Dasiman, Razif; Hamid, Nazimah; Raseetha, Siva
Pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita moschata) and sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus) are underutilised as food in Malaysia. Benefits of seeds are often overlooked. This research showed that 95% ethanol extract of pumpkin seeds exhibited greenish colour, while 95% ethanol extract of sunflower seeds extract exhibited yellowish colour. Crude fat analysis (Soxhlet) contained 29.53±0.58% in pumpkin seeds and 27.74±0.31% in sunflower seeds. Crude protein was significantly higher in pumpkin seeds (36.69±1.26%) compared to sunflower seeds (12.03±0.14%). FTIR spectroscopy revealed functional groups such as hydroxyl, nitrile, nitric oxide in 95% ethanol extract for both seeds compared to 50% ethanol extracts and powdered forms. ICP -OES indicated that potassium was abundant (4408.20±0.00 mg/100g) and copper least (3.42±0.00 mg/100g) in pumpkin seeds. Sunflower seeds contained 3665.85±47.46 mg/100g potassium and 6.78±0.03 mg/100g copper. Alkaloid content was significantly higher in 95% ethanol extract of sunflower seeds (5.01±0.10 mg/g) compared to 50% ethanol extract (4.60±0.16 mg/g). Pumpkin seeds, 95% and 50% ethanol extracts contained 3.16±0.10 mg/g and 3.04±0.10 mg/g) of alkaloids, respectively. The 95% ethanol extracts had higher tannin content, with pumpkin seeds containing 0.91±0.008 mg CE/mL for pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds (0.81±0.003 mg CE/mL), compared to 50% ethanol extracts. This research aligns with sustainability approach and SDG 12 framework.