School of Physical Education
The School of Physical Education's strength is its multi-disciplinary approach to research that covers a wide range of study fields (e.g. biomechanics, cultural studies, psychology epidemiology, etc) and embraces many different theoretical and/or methodological paradigms.
Recent Deposits
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A Journey to Belonging: Explorations of Māori Perspectives of Water Safety
Māori are intimately connected to wai (water). There are many Māori sayings and phrases that include wai, such as: wairua (spirit), waimāori (freshwater), waiora (wellness), ko wai koe (what waters are you, who are you?) ... -
Adolescent sports participation: a case study of the Maldives
Throughout the world participation in sport and physical activity is considered to be one of the most important leisure time activities among adolescents (e.g. Rees, Brettschneider & Brandl-Bredenbeck, 1998; Eitzen & Sage, ... -
The Stress and Strain of Triathlon Racing in Different Thermal Environments
Athletic endurance competitions in hot environments have become more relevant in professional sports. The inception for this thesis was to understand why a group of elite endurance triathletes repeatedly failed to perform ... -
Developing a first principles approach to educating water skills for life to children
In New Zealand, despite the fact that the majority of drownings occur in open water, most swimming teaching occurs in public swimming pools. It is possible that learning to swim in a public swimming pool does not sufficiently ... -
Ngā tapuwae o te haka - Māori perspectives on haka in sport
The most prominent element of tikanga Māori which is consistently integrated, adopted and adapted into the sporting realm is haka. Haka has a multitude of meanings, as a ritual of encounter, as an expression of identity ... -
Gait stability during shod and barefoot walking and running on a treadmill assessed by correlation entropy
This study tests correlation entropy, 𝐾2, as a measure of stability for gait analysis. An average of 13 strides from 10 participants in each combination of one footwear (barefoot vs shod) condition and one gait mode ... -
Acute and adaptive responses to endurance swimming in warm water
Human thermoregulation and exercise performance have been investigated extensively in warm terrestrial environments but not warm aquatic environments. Open-water swimming (OWS) is an increasingly popular sport, with more ... -
The Effects of Intuitive Movement Re-embodiment on the Well-Being of Older Adults with Dementia: A Pilot Study
Background This ethnographic research is a pilot study that explores the effects of ‘Intuitive Movement Re-embodiment’ (IMR), an original community dance and music program on the well-being of older adults with dementia. ... -
Inclusion and diversity in our choreographies and classrooms
Dance is currently being implemented as a curriculum subject in primary and secondary schools throughout New Zealand. This thesis aims to support and advocate for the inclusion of dance in the curriculum, by exploring ... -
Physical Activity, Physical Function and Quality of Life in Community-Based Maintenance Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a comprehensive approach to recovery developed to help overcome the complications associated with cardiovascular disease. However, despite the reported advantages of CR, little is known of ... -
Place-Responsive Outdoor Education Pedagogy in Singapore Secondary Schools: A Case Study
Outdoor education in Singapore is gaining traction with recent policy changes emanating from the Government’s National Outdoor Education Masterplan. Concerningly, a lack of critical examination and review of the policy ... -
Developing, Delivering, and Assessing the ‘Performance and Personal Excellence Programme’: A Multiphase, Mixed-Methods Research Project
The purpose of this research project was to develop, deliver, and assess the effectiveness of a life skills (LS) programme for promoting performance excellence and personal excellence in elite athletes. Multiple types of ... -
Assessing School Neighbourhood Environments for Active Transport to Secondary Schools in Dunedin, New Zealand
Background: Adolescent active transport to school (ATS) is influenced by demographic, social, environmental and policy factors. Yet, the relationship between school neighbourhood built environment and adolescents’ ATS ... -
Effects of Commuter Cycling on Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health
Few have utilised a randomised controlled study design to monitor cardiovascular health in adults who replace automotive forms of transport with cycling1,2. Previous commuter cycling (CC) interventions observed ... -
Reliability assessment of torque measures during a unilateral pressing movement.
The context for this project was that a perceived overemphasis on conventional flat bench press training could be interfering with the ‘natural’ shoulder girdle functional movement patterns and, consequently influencing ... -
Visualizing rugby game styles using Self-Organizing Maps
Rugby coaches and analysts often use notational data describing match events to assess their team’s performance and to devise strategic plans for upcoming matches. However, given the volume and complexity of the data ... -
Cardiovascular adaptations to exercise, heat and dehydration
Exercise incurs multiple forms of strain and in several physiological systems. The nature of exercise dictates the profile of strain and thus the adaptive stimulus. Exercise intensity is a key parameter, and much interest ... -
Transport to School Habits, Physical Activity and Weight Status in Adolescents
Background: Active transport (AT) to school is a means for adolescents to increase the amount of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and can help them achieve physical activity (PA) guidelines. This study ... -
Sports on the Gambling Table: An Institutional Approach to Match-fixing
This thesis explores the ongoing global problem of match-fixing in sport. In contrast to rational-choice perspectives focusing on individual moral failure, this thesis advances an institutional approach that explains ...