Doctoral Thesis

Awardee: Uenukuterangihoka Jefferies (Ngāti Raukawa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Awa, Te Whakatōhea), University of Auckland

This kaupapa Māori-informed study explores how fidgeting—small, repetitive movements often seen in people with wairangi ā-aronga (ADHD)—might be linked to patterns of brain activity and thinking. The research focuses on rangatahi and pakeke (16 years and older) in Tairāwhiti, with 40 participants: 20 with lived experience of wairangi ā-aronga and 20 neurotypical individuals, matched by age and gender.

Awardee: Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor (Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor), The University of Auckland

This research explores how Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (NWŌ) whānau understand, experience, and sustain collective oranga and mental wellbeing, with the overarching aim of developing a culturally grounded iwi-led mental health strategy. The project emerged from the NWŌ Mental Health Forum, established in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns in response to rising isolation and mental distress. In 2022, following the tragic loss of a rangatahi to mate whakamomori (suicide), the forum was revitalised, prompting a renewed focus on oranga and mental wellbeing, and the development of an iwi-specific strategic response.

Awardee: Mona-Lisa Wareka (Ngātiwai, Ngāti Rereahu), University of Waikato

This research aims towards facilitating transformative change by investigating the impacts and experiences Māori face under current cannabis laws, while examining opinions surrounding potential decriminalisation. This project is significant as it is the first of its kind in Aotearoa, and looks to challenge attitudes surrounding cannabis at an academic level.

Awardee: Hamiora Te Momo (Ngāti Porou (Ngāti Konohi), Ngāti Raukawa (Ngāti Whakatere), University of Waikato

This doctorial study in computer science explores the design and development of a culturally grounded mobile augmented reality (MAR) system where carvings on the marae can see, recognise, and respond to users through tikanga-led interaction. Using on-device face detection with portable machine learning models, each carving retains relational awareness of individual users—including those sharing whānau devices—supporting personalised engagement without requiring internet connectivity. Users are guided through a whakapapa-based network of pouwhenua, where permission and sequence matter: deeper storytelling is unlocked only through culturally correct pathways.

Hineitimoana’s research is a critical biography of her grandmother, Tuaiwa (Eva) Rickard, a Tainui Ngāti Koata woman known for her influential role in the Māori land rights movement of the 1970s.

Sharron’s doctoral research is a strengths-based study called ‘Hauora: A Ngāti Kahungunu perspective’ and the research question is, “What is the relationship between kaupapa Māori community-led initiatives and Māori notions of hauora and how can this mātauranga-ā-iwi inform Te Ara Toiora, the Ngāti Kahungunu Wellbeing Strategy?”