AUT Research Repository (Auckland Univ. of Technology)
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Emergency Department Trends and Outcomes: A Data-Driven Analysis
This study analyzes hospital Emergency Department (ED) data from 2016 to 2024, examining trends in Waiting Times (WT), Lengths of Stay (LoS), and patient outcomes. WT and LoS increased after the pandemic, indicating operational issues, even though patient volumes remained consistent throughout the whole period. Longer delays were observed on weekends and throughout the colder months, according to temporal analysis. Younger age groups and NZ European/Pākehā and Māori populations dominated ED visits, with older patients experiencing higher mortality rates. Mortality analysis revealed an inverse relationship between WT and patient mortality, with extended LoS correlating with increased severity. The results emphasize the use of predictive analytics to enhance healthcare equity and optimize ED operations
International Business (Research) and the LGBTQIA+ Community: Advancing Theory and Societal Relevance
Purpose
The study aims to catalyze research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other non-heteronormative sexual identity (LGBTQIA+) issues within the international business (IB) field in a structured manner beyond human resource management (HRM) or marketing topics. In addition to the growing number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) researchers, the authors also want to speak to a broader audience of IB scholars focused on multinational enterprise (MNE) non-market strategy, IB policy and strategic management scholars.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first looks at the evolving LGBTQIA+ terminology. It then synthesizes the extant LGBTQIA+ literature, as it relates to the IB field, starting with the marketing literature from the 1990s.
Findings
Within the IB literature, HRM issues, particularly around expatriation and the diffusion of LGBTQIA+ policies and practices, dominate. The study also finds that the majority of LGBTQIA+ research is etic rather than in nature and is heavily dominated by Anglo-American terminology and western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) ontologies.
Originality/value
The IB field has only recently started systematically addressing diversity, such as gender, ethnicity and race. The interest in sexual orientation and the LGBTQIA+ community is even more novel. The authors make a case for more emic-type of LGBTQIA+ research and stronger cultural theorizing to provide nuanced and pluralistic approaches beyond so-called WEIRD perspectives. The study also provides guidance on how the IB field should engage with LGBTQIA+ topics across multiple levels of theorizing and analysis and provides some supporting research questions
Doing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in Applied Linguistics Research: A Field-Specific Guide
As applied linguistics increasingly embraces qualitative and socially situated methodologies, it has drawn on approaches from other disciplines. This paper extends that trajectory by exploring interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology originating in psychology and grounded in phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography. IPA offers a valuable framework for research focused on the lived experiences of language users, learners, and educators. The paper argues for a critical repositioning of IPA within applied linguistics, highlighting its capacity to examine how individuals make meaning of complex linguistic, cultural, and educational phenomena. Using data from interviews and focus groups, the IPA demonstrated here enables detailed, contextualized analysis of additional language (AL) learning and teaching practices. It attends to both individual cases and cross-case thematic patterns. By providing a methodological guide featuring a worked example from a doctoral study with New Zealand-based ESOL teachers, the analysis examines how teachers’ experiences of AL learning inform their TESOL knowledge and practices and how they view their professional positioning in the TESOL sector. The paper offers strategies for rigor, transparency, and ethical reflexivity in IPA research. It concludes with a critical reflection on the strengths and limitations of IPA for researching language teacher knowledge and practice
The Hidden Workforce: Neurodivergent Realities in Hospitality and Tourism
This thesis explores the lived experiences of neurodivergent employees within the international hospitality and tourism industry, with a focus on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite increasing global conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion, neurodiversity remains a largely invisible and underrepresented dimension in the international hospitality and tourism industry and human resource management (HRM) policies. The research presented in this thesis addresses this critical gap in knowledge. A mixed-methods approach was adopted to explore both the systematic challenges and untapped strengths of neurodivergent workers within the industry. A quantitative and qualitative survey was completed by 110 employees in the international hospitality and tourism industry who self-identified as neurodiverse, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with three managers in the industry. Key findings include a concerning lack of formal neuroinclusive HRM practices, inconsistent managerial awareness, and challenges related to discrimination and career advancement faced by neurodivergent employees working in the international hospitality and tourism industry. The findings reveal that neurodivergent staff often experience stigma, communication barriers, and an exclusionary workplace culture, yet also demonstrate extraordinary strengths regarding attention to detail, creativity, problem solving and customer service. The findings are analysed through the lens of the social model of disability, leading to a proposed framework for more inclusive HRM informed by neurodivergent voices. This research also contributes practical recommendations, including the adaptation of New Zealand‘s Rainbow Tick certification mark into a broader “Diversity Tick” that incorporates neurodivergent employees in organisational HR policies and workplace culture. This research study is, to the best of the author’s knowledge, the first to apply Kahn’s (1990) theoretical framework to neurodiversity within the international hospitality and tourism industry. Data collected for this research also enable a comparison of the neuroinclusivity experienced by hospitality and tourism industry employees in New Zealand and the United States for the first time. By adapting Kahn’s (1990) model of employee engagement and disengagement to focus on his concept psychological safety , this study advances our understanding of how to cultivate inclusive workplaces in which neurodivergent employees are not merely accommodated but actively valued and empowered to thrive
Moving Beyond Carceral Safety Logics in Aotearoa New Zealand
Carceral safety logics, which place institutions within the criminal punishment system as a source of safety, continue to dominate globally. Despite their dominance, during the last 5 years in Aotearoa New Zealand, surveys have reported that more people feel less safe (Ministry of Justice, 2023). This article problematises the reliance on carceral safety logics in Aotearoa and explores alternative approaches that may generate more collective and sustainable safety. This article draws on 16 semi-structured interviews with people who advocate or work in the ‘justice’ system to inform this perspective. Narratives shared within these interviews present a desired relational element of safety that is at odds with carceral safety logics and punitive approaches to safety. The participants, from penal populists to penal abolitionists, ultimately saw safety through community-building, ensuring wellbeing needs are met, and collective care. This article unpacks what these shared ideas could mean for abolitionist conceptions of safety and justice in the community
Cognitive Influences in Second-hand Markets: From Perception to Purchase in Rural Smartphone Consumption
Purpose
This study aims to examine how rural consumers make second-hand purchase decisions beyond economic necessity. Using schema theory, we explore how perceived price fairness, product features, product quality and sustainable community influence drive purchase intentions in the rural second-hand smartphone market.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed 225 rural New Zealand second-hand smartphone users and tested our hypotheses using partial least squares – structural equation modelling to analyse key factors influencing purchase intentions.
Findings
This study challenges the assumption that rural consumers evaluate second-hand goods solely on objective attributes, showing that decision-making is shaped by past experiences, social influences and perceived price fairness. Rather than a purely economic assessment, price fairness integrates product quality and features, influencing consumer engagement. In addition, community norms and sustainability messaging shape purchasing decisions, emphasising social influences over rational education.
Practical implications
Businesses and policymakers must move beyond price incentives and leverage social networks and sustainability messaging to shape consumer schemas. Trust in second-hand markets depends on perceived fairness, quality and social validation, highlighting the importance of community-driven interventions over traditional rational education efforts.
Originality/value
This study extends schema theory by demonstrating how rural consumers use cognitive shortcuts and social learning to navigate information asymmetry, reframes perceived price fairness as a cognitive framework rather than a transactional factor and highlights sustainability as a dynamic consumer heuristic
Interstitial Explorations into the Cantonese Essence Through the Design of Documentary Travelogues
This article presents a practice-led research that explores the potential of contemporary, poetic travelogues to express and preserve cultural identity. The project addresses the question: How can a travelogue that combines poetic writing, mixed media imagery, and structured document design convey an evolving sense of Cantonese identity? Drawing on Eastern and Western frameworks—specifically, theories of time, interstitial spaces, and cultural identity from Confucian, Daoist, phenomenological, and postcolonial perspectives, the study situates the travelogue as a record of journeys; and expand it to bridge ancestral heritage and modern life. Employing a reflective practice approach, the project combines photography, archival research, sketching, Chinese traditional binding, narrative interviews, poetic writing, and cyanotype illustration to document the perspectives of two generations of Cantonese women. These methods contribute to multi-layered narratives that blend historical and contemporary elements. The study is significant for its contributions to cross-cultural reflections. Through poetic storytelling, this research reinterprets cultural lifestyles and traditions from everyday life in the past, providing a medium to explore Cantonese heritage. It contributes to studies on generational narratives by examining how the same physical spaces are perceived and understood across different time periods
Trends in Occupational Segregation Between Women and Men in New Zealand
[from Introduction] The changing role of women in the economy is a central feature of societal change in developed countries over the past decades. For example, in the United States female labour-force participation rose from 43.3 % in 1970 to 56.2 % in 2020 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Similar increases are evident across many high-income countries (Ortiz-Ospina, Tzvetkova, and Roser, 2018), including New Zealand (NZ) where female labour-force participation increased from 54.8 % in 1987 to 66.7 % in 2025 (Stats NZ, 2025). In educational attainment, women now outperform men in most OECD countries (OECD, 2024). In NZ, 44.8 % of women aged 25 to 64 years have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 34.2 % of men (OECD, 2024). Occupational segregation, however, remains persistent in developed countries (Lind and Colquhoun, 2021; Salardi, 2016; Blau, Brummund, and Liu, 2013) and has increased in parts of the developing world (Borrowman and Klasen, 2020). This matters for several reasons. At the individual level, it can limit women’s economic opportunities. At the macroeconomic level, occupational
segregation could imply a misallocation of talent that impedes economic growth (Hsieh, Hurst, Jones, and Klenow, 2019)
Hauora: Relational Wellbeing of Māori Community Support Workers
There has been growing global interest in wellbeing over recent decades, yet what constitutes wellbeing depends on cultural and philosophical traditions, as well as worldview and knowledge systems. Our article offers an Indigenous Māori view on hauora – relational wellbeing – which emanates from the spiritual essence and ethic of hau, and traverses ecological, social, and economic spheres. We use the case study of Māori community support workers (CSWs), who, in our study, found that their hauora was affected by discrimination, racism, and a lack of cultural awareness and support from employers. Our participants, centred mostly within corporate community support providers, found that Western models of care and support did not allow for the expression of tikanga Māori, which limited their options for providing culturally appropriate care. Also prevalent was the lack of recognition by employers and funders of the importance of culture and culturally appropriate care. The implications of acknowledging hauora within Aotearoa New Zealand’s wellbeing frameworks are then examined, showing that Māori notions of wellbeing have the potential to deliver better outcomes not only for Māori but for all New Zealanders. In this article, we provide some recommendations and reflections on how organisations can prioritise and embed the cultural wellbeing of Māori CSWs, their whānau and their clients in the workplace
Who is Sean Baker, the indie filmmaker behind Oscar sweeper Anora?
Director Sean Baker has made history by becoming the first person to win four Academy Awards in the same night for the same film – Anora – taking home prizes for original screenplay, film editing, directing and best picture.
Anora centres on Ani (Mikey Madison), a Brooklyn sex worker entangled with Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the immature son of a Russian oligarch. After Ivan disappears, Ani searches through New York with his handler Toros (Karren Karagulian) to find him.
Baker’s Oscars sweep capped off a string of wins over the past year, but surprised many pundits who expected three-and-a-half hour epic The Brutalist to take home the top prize.
He’s made the 97th Academy Awards one for the history books. So who is Sean Baker? [...