Social Policy and Social Work

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The restructuring of the Department of Social Welfare and implications for social work practice, 1986-1988 : a dissertation presented in partial fulfillment for the requirements of a Doctorate in Philosophy at Massey University
(Massey University, 1990) Barretta-Herman, Angeline
This exploratory study analysed changes in the practice of social work in the Department of Social Welfare which occurred as a consequence of the Department's restructuring in 1986. This restructuring introduced major changes in management, service delivery, and the provision of culturally appropriate social services. It was proposed that changes in the practice of social work were related to wider economic, political and social debates regarding the viability and effectiveness of New Zealand's social services. These debates were interpreted as indicating a significant shift from policies derived from a welfare state model of provision to a welfare society model of social service delivery. A multi-leveled analytical framework was used to examine issues of policy, organization and professional practice. Three qualitative techniques were used to generate the data reported in the dissertation: documents published during the period 1969 - 1988; a structured interview schedule completed with both managers and social workers; and, finally, participant observation in two District Offices of the Department. Findings from this exploratory study provided general support for the shift in policy from a state funded, centrally directed model of service provision, to a pluralistic model that altered the role of the state and was intended to increase the involvement of community - based voluntary services. Within this shift, it was shown that during the 1986 - 1988 period, the Department's role became increasingly concerned with funding, monitoring and evaluating services. Biculturalism and the needs of Maori were shown to be critical factors in these shifts. The practice of social work within the Department of Social Welfare also became more limited and more specialised and its professional identity was altered by the changed organizational emphasis and the requirements of the Department. Several avenues for further research were delineated. Prospects for the future practice of social work sketched in the context of ongoing change within the Department were identified.
From rocking the cradle to rocking the system : women, community work and social change in Aotearoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University
(Massey University, 1991) Craig, Wendy
This dissertation explores women's involvement in community work in Aotearoa. It is argued that women's significant contributions to community work have been hidden, devalued or ignored in mainstream writing and teaching. This study documents women's experiences and their perceptions of these experiences; such stories which are very seldom told. It also focusses on an explanation of social change from the perspective of women community workers. These women view community work as a site of struggle for change, through the processes of empowerment, self-determination and working collectively. Sixteen women, eight Maori and eight pakeha, participated in this study. These women have been identified as change agents and throughout their stories they constantly link their daily experiences to national, global and structural issues. All of the women have made a commitment to working towards change. This commitment has not always been been without cost to themselves and to their families. Although the changes that the women have achieved can, at times, be seen as reformist in nature, it is argued that as women's community work challenges the practices of the state, it contributes to social change processes. The approach taken is informed by my socialist feminist perspective. Issues pertaining to gender, race and, to some extent, class are considered in this thesis.. The study concludes that future theorising about community work in Aotearoa, must, of necessity show, more effectively how gender, race and class are interrelated. The differences between the Maori and pakeha women's stories indicate that gender cannot be examined in isolation from race. The existence of gender, as a category, is shaped also by other relations such as race and class. In articulating their struggles for change, the women reveal that there is much to be learned about the politics of caring. The women recognise that they have been trained to be the caregivers in society. For these women, however, caring plays an important role in the social change process. Their approach is based on an empowering model rather than a dependency one. Yet, whilst the women celebrate their own capacities related to caring, they are also concerned that men stand back from, and even devalue, this essential role which enables society to function. Thus community work is frequently conceptualised as women's work, and the women have to struggle to be recognised and paid for it. This thesis also shows that, despite the differences between the Maori and pakeha women, their relationship is generally co-operative and the potential for them to learn from one another exists. Through their collective involvement in the Aotearoa Community Workers Association the women have found ways to work towards a partnership which is based on an understanding of the rights of Maori as the indigenous people of Aotearoa. This research serves as a celebration of the women's experiences and knowledge of community work in Aotearoa. It is documented in a way that other women community workers can use to reflect on their own work. The challenge of any research and action is to not only record people's experiences, but also to use our knowledge, both written and oral, to provide an explanation of our current reality in order to , if necessary, change this reality. This dissertation, as part of a social process, has attempted to achieve this aim.
From job creation to training, 1840-1990 : a descriptive analysis of the development and demise of job creation policy as the mainstay of state responses to unemployment in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 1994) Mulengu, Andrew Punabantu
New Zealand, for much of the present century has been regarded by other English speaking nations as boldly experimenting in the development of social policy; but is currently taking the dismantling of the welfare state further than most western countries. This thesis provides a historical analysis of job creation for the unemployed, which was provided by the state on a relatively large scale (relative to the size of the New Zealand population), from the earliest days of colonisation in the 1840s until it was virtually phased out inthe mid-1980s. The thesis examines the competing ideas and interests which conditioned the adoption, growth, fluctuations in the eventual demise of job creation as the mainstay of the New Zealand state's responses to unemployment. In particular, it examines the impact of the various sets of ideas about work and human nature which were brought to New Zealand in the course of colonisation by the British; and the extent to which the colonisers were able to recreate patterns of work and dependency from Britain. The study of job creation in New Zealand is a history of conflict based on class interests. One task of the thesis is to show how the state has responded in different periods to demands from working men for the 'right to work'. However, it is also a history of the reinforcing of ancient divisions of labour along lines of gender and ethnicity, and of the relative privileging of 'pakeha' (white, European) men in terms of their access to paid work provided by the state. Job creation for the unemployed has been a site of both conflict and compromise between (mainly male) labour and capital throughout the post-colonisation period in New Zealand. This thesis provides an in-depth study of the ways in which such conflict and compromise contributed to the development, form and eventual demise of job creation in New Zealand.
Reclaiming the last rites (rights) : women and after-death policy, practices and beliefs in Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1995) Hera, Jean
This thesis develops an ecofeminist analysis of women's roles in after-death work and ritual in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The thesis describes and analyses the male takeover, and accompanying professionalization of death which has removed death out of the hands of the lay women in the family and community who previously held this role, and which has removed dying, death and after-death practices and ritual out of the home and into the institution. A bicultural emphasis has been adopted for this research into death which involves Maori, the first nation tribal peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand and Pakeha, people of European (particularly British) descent who have colonized Aotearoa. The thesis examines both the differing and related experiences of Maori and Pakeha in relation to changing and evolving after-death policy, practices and beliefs in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It also considers the value of after-death experiences in the home and in the community and the choices and restrictions of today that relate to this. A triangulation of research methods is used: public records research to produce an historical social policy analysis of death, the action research of the Palmerston North Women's Homedeath Support Group which is an initiative to demystify and reclaim after-death knowledge and choices, and eighteen in-depth interviews which provide women's stories of their after-death experiences. The research aims to contribute to a process which seeks to demystify death and assist women and the wider community to reclaim control over the last rites (rights).
Bewhoherenow : philosophy of existing sense : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph. D. in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1995) Goodwillie, Craig
body is[born and sustained through] sacrifice. i see mind seek immortalityandomnipotence through sacrifice. i see mind over body - mind rooting divide in subtraction of orgasmic from being[beingintheworld] to body to part[orgasm] to non i see mind rage [Laing] - where there was once here - rapeing here. seeyouhere [appealing]. argument [syllogism]. i, bodimentofbeing [eg Laing] iam bewhoherenow lookdown. iambody in Pain. The mutual repulsion of profane and sacred [Gould on sacred Hindu law]. profanity [of body] is polluted in embodying [pollution in her] and the sacrifice [decay and death - of zeroing body] - purifies sacred. Based on Gould's summary of the underlying assumptions of Hindu sacred law in chapter four "Priests and Conrapriests" (1967) In Gould, Harold A. (1987) The Hindu Caste System: The Sacralization of a Social Order. Chanakya: Delhi. p. 111. Reprinted from Contributions to Indian Sociology. New Series, No. 1, pp 28-57. pain embodimentofbeing [eg Kierkegaard guilts] therefore pain splacematterenergytime [Zeno on splacematterenergytime] splacematterenergytime therefore physics [physics - enlightenment testing ground for cause and effect. Einstein is the light speed observer - observing as fast as impossible with all else in train[slaved]. Newton masters gravity. Chaos is unpredictable slave. Second law of thermodynamics is mastery of slavery. Determinism - master[cause] and slave[effect] - exposed.] physics therefore chemistry [cell bodies], biology [organic bodies], psychology [human body], sociology [human bodies] physics therefore economy [shop - supply of body mastered and demand of body slaved], therefore law [keep shop] and policy [shop front] physics therefore mathematics [dominating human language. the right angle [triangle, hypotenuse, point of view] from Pythagorus and the zeroing of infinity from Indian grammar as void shape [the view of] mind.] physics of mathematics therefore philosophy of mathematics [the form of Plato called first cause by Aristotle and named one by Parmenides and Ptolemy mythologise shape as truth.] mathematics therefore logic [proofing the dominance of mathematics as dominant perspective. Leibniz puts one[everything] and zero[nothing] in Aristotle's syllogism and Boole starts crunching medium of english.] language therefore body [language is metaphor - the naming of] therefore is am i [who] was seen before [then] and therefore pain is becoming in between being inbetweenbeing - etheranderos - heavenandearth and [therefore] creation becomes kill[determined] [sacrifice]. sense [evidence]. inaffinity i body being in words [sound] in paper [light] in hand [body] and water [blood] and inaffinity [analogy] i syllogism. i syllogism to immortality [aim of mind] and syllogism immortality to death [target]. i deal summarily with logic [Aristotle, Leibniz, Boole, Russell and others] language [Panini, Itkonen, Laing, Burke and others] law [Williams, Waddams and others] mathematics [Sarton, Kline, Weyl and others] physics [Zeno, Pythagorus, Newton, Einstein] chemistry [Van Helmont, Brock, Hoagland] biology [Malthus, Darwin, Carson] sociology [Milgram] psychology [Skinner] economy [Smith, Marx, Stigler, Mumford] policy [Machiavelli, Orwell] and mythology [Upanishads, Plato, da Vinci, Galileo, Kant]. i quote directly or quote quote from recognised source. i use subheadings. i sound wordsounds [eg bodyandsoul] i emotion for sound [errors abound]. conclusion [assumptions]. beingintheworld is[the way of the world]. body is mind is being. mind is grasping[knots] itself. mind is lost[without body]. presumption [prediction]. beingwhole [therefore] letgoofyourself [advice given] and shebehere. [500 words]
From unconscious to self-conscious : cognitive rehabilitation from the perspective of symbolic interactionism : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1996) Sutherland, Deborah
There is increasing awareness and concern that psychosocial problems prevent people with brain damage reestablishing an acceptable quality of life. Changes in perception and cognition appear to alter a person's relationships, preventing a successful reintegration into the community. As a result, many researchers and rehabilitation practitioners have been calling for more holistic models of recovery which recognise the psychosocial domain and which offer strategies to counteract these problems. In this study, the principles of symbolic interactionism are used to explore the experience of four people with traumatic brain injury. A life history was collected for each person and the four life histories were examined for common patterns and themes. A videocamera was then used to record their daily life in a residential rehabilitation programme. The film collected included formal one-to-one therapy sessions, group situations and informal interaction in the living areas, dining room and passageways etc. The four people (and also those with whom they interacted) were shown selected excerpts from this film and interviewed about what was happening. Several common themes emerged from this process and these themes are examined within a theoretical framework which recognises the central role of a dual, interacting and interpreting self, creating meaning through an adapting and accommodating process. Theory and literature about brain damage and about inner brain processes is revisited from this perspective of the person as a meaning negotiator and some conclusions are reached about the impact of brain damage upon lived experience. In particular, the role of a moral self or an inner conjured audience is considered, as well as the role of emotional intersubjectivity within relationships. Some new insights are offered as to how people resolve the problem of continuing to interact with their world when it is difficult for them to make sense of it or interpret it, and how other people's responses influence this process. The findings of the research suggest adaptations to both settings and relationships may be necessary for a successful recovery after brain injury. The importance of providing scaffolding of the meaning-negotiating process during a liminal period of recovery is noted. Some suggestions are offered as to interactive strategies which foster adaptive, purposeful and independent lifestyles. The thesis concludes that because realities are created through interaction, the principles of symbolic interactionism should become more central in the designing of rehabilitation programmes.
From the ward to the home : caring for a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia in New Zealand : this thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1996) Richards-Ward, Leigh Anne; Richards-Ward, Leigh Anne
The research question examined in this thesis is: 'What are the characteristics and complexities of the informal care provided within a family to a member diagnosed with schizophrenia, in New Zealand? This research question is divided into two parts. The first part examines the characteristics and complexities of the unpaid caring work provided to a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia and the second part explores how this care provision is influenced by the social, political, cultural, legal and economic context of New Zealand. This research is important because first, very little is known about the process and interpretation of care provided to a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia and second, New Zealand places great emphasis upon deinstitutionalisation and community care. Ten women and four of their husbands were invited to participate in this research. These women were the primary informal care-givers of a family member who had experienced the cyclical acute and chronic episodes of schizophrenia. The women's husbands filled a secondary supporting role in relation to the women. The women met to identify themes related to their informal care provision. These themes were translated into an interview guide which acted as a prompt for the researcher while the women and men were articulating their stories of care-giving. Foremost amongst the findings of this research was that the dominant understandings of care should be extended in order to reflect the informal care provided to a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia. The men supported the women's care provision which reflected their family member's unpredictable, changeable and cyclical symptoms of schizophrenia. It was characterised by the primacy of supervision and monitoring and was provided on a continual (flat-line) basis. It was also established that the women were finding it increasingly difficult to meet their informal caring responsibilities, these responsibilities being increased and extended by the Government's actions to reduce both state expenditure and state caring responsibilities. The difficulty the women were experiencing in meeting the complex and changing care needs of their family member indicated that a continuum of care needs to be provided. It is argued that a continuum of care will need to include early intervention services, a range of community-based and institutionally-based mental health services, and a review of the definition of 'mentally disordered' contained within the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. In order to coordinate and provide such a continuum of care, state, community and family caring responsibilities need to be combined, these three caring agents working collaboratively.
Male breadwinner households and work : alterations in the transition to a liberal welfare regime : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 1997) Barrett, Patrick Neville
This thesis examines how the nexus between households and work in New Zealand has been altered by the transition from a wage earner cum social expenditure welfare regime to a liberal welfare regime. The proposition that welfare regimes are characterised by distinctive institutional arrangements and labour market outcomes is explored at the micro-level through household life and work histories. Life and work history data from a small number of Palmerston North male breadwinner households was used to examine the way individuals' lives have been affected by the institutional context at distinctive historical epochs. The thesis discusses the implications for household labour market activity and experience in each regime. Strong cultural and normative continuities are noted despite the trend towards dual earner households. Variation in the potential for labour market mobility across regimes is observed in terms of changing opportunities for skill acquisition. Change in the experience of unemployment and subsequent labour supply responses is examined. Increasing employment insecurity is found to be an outcome of increasing risk of job loss, declining levels of input into jobs and declining levels of protection from adversity in employment relationship. With fewer employment opportunities in the liberal regime, yet with increasing welfare selectivism, the nexus between households and work is found to be characterised by a greater level of income necessity. Households' responses include the supply of "additional" labour - an added-worker effect - whereby they take whatever work can be found, often lower paid and with poor conditions. The examination at the micro-level of how household labour market activity and experience had been altered by the transition to the liberal regime was found to enhance the understanding of change in the interface between work and welfare.
Enabling participation through partnership : emancipatory research : the potential for change for disabled people : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1998) Boyles, Pauline; Boyles, Pauline
This thesis presents an example of emancipatory research used within the field of disability studies. It argues that research can be conducted in a way which more directly addresses the needs of disabled people and involves them in its design and delivery. The key questions examine the role of emancipatory research in enabling disabled people to take control of their lives and to accomplish change in their immediate environment. Secondary questions explore the contribution of critical theorists Brian Fay and Stuart Rees in informing a model of emancipatory research and their work has been adapted to act as a framework for the thesis. The challenges researchers face when embarking on this type of research are confronted in a realistic and constructive way. It is argued that the achievement of a definition of 'emancipatory' more often depends on the attitudes and values of the researcher and the resulting impact on those whose lives are central to the research. The thesis describes how a group of twelve disabled students formed the Disability Action Research Group (DARG), identified some goals for change in their immediate environment and subsequently developed a disability equity training package to be delivered to the staff of Victoria University. The journey from action research group to the development of a training group with a legal status instigated by the students of DARG is presented, offering some landmarks for others wishing to engage in similar activities.. The key theme of partnership represents the potential for alliances between disabled people as well as with their nondisabled allies. "Enabling participation through partnership" underpins every aspect of this thesis and reflects its fundamental principles.
Evaluation of the "contact-challenge method" in social work practice education : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
(Massey University, 1998) Napan, Ksenija; Napan, Ksenija
This thesis examines the importance of integrating theory, practice and experience which is considered to be essential for effective social work education. We live in a globally interconnected world and a holistic and ecological worldview has been utilised to explore relevant theories as well as research in order to develop a method of teaching and learning which attempts to continually improve social work education. Two studies were conducted in order to evaluate and further improve the Contact-Challenge Method. The main aim of the method is to utilise the personal experiences of students, their communication with social work clients, skills training and field work experience in order to help them better integrate theories learnt during social work education. Action research has been used as a research method for evaluation and further development of the Contact-Challenge Method because of its participatory and empowering nature. It is argued that education, social work and research are inevitably value laden and that social work students need to examine their own value base in order to develop a value base for effective social work. It is also argued that social work education has to reflect those values, which arc prescribed by the Code of Ethics of the profession. Learning theory, skills training and the student's personal experience are equal elements of social work education. Values and principles that permeate social work practice should be utilised in the teaching-learning process of social work. The Contact-Challenge Method evaluated in this thesis is focused on modelling social work values and on maximising student-student learning as well as learning from clients and their families. Three theories have been used in the development of evaluation of this method: Experiential Learning Theory, Choice Theory and Adult Learning Theory (Andragogy). The principles and ideas of these three theories have been incorporated in the Contact-Challenge Method and have been carried through in practice in both studies, in Croatia and in Aotearoa- New Zealand. Research into student learning and motivation as well as on the transfer of skills learned in laboratory settings to practice, provided valuable findings that helped in the development and evaluation of the Contact-Challenge Method. Throughout the thesis learning is understood to be a holistic process. In both studies students learned on many levels using cognition, emotions, prior experiences and their theoretical knowledge. Social work education has the advantage that students may learn simultaneously about content and process. Students were expected to take responsibility for their own learning and for creating quality time with their clients. This contributed to the effective integration of theory, practice and experience and to the utilisation of problem solving processes in order to attain learning outcomes set at the beginning of the course. The basic assumptions of this thesis are that: Social work clients and social work practitioners are irreplaceable source of knowledge and practice wisdom for social work students. Setting individual outcomes in the process of learning encourages students to take charge of their own learning. Focusing only on intellectual work in social work schools and only on practical work in social work practice placements cannot produce competent social workers. This thesis proposes an integrative approach to teaching and learning social work where theory, practice and experience are integrated in order to produce change in knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. At the same time it provides a context where students' individual learning outcomes can be achieved and the quality of life of social work clients can be improved.
People, policies and practice : social work education in Aotearoa/New Zealand from 1949-1995 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1998) Nash, Elizabeth Gillian Mary Amaryllis
This thesis is a case study of the history of social work education in Aotearoa/New Zealand between 1949, when the first professional course for social work was established, and 1995, when the social services Industry Training Organisation was formed. It traces influences responsible for shaping social work education. Key questions focus on the nature and provision of education for social workers, how this has changed over time and why. Three organisations (the New Zealand Association of Social Workers, the New Zealand Social Work Training Council and the New Zealand Council for Education and Training in the Social Services) had degrees of authority over policy making, setting standards, accrediting courses, or advising governments in matters relating to social work education. These provide a focal point for the research. Key people in the field of social and community work contributed their personal views and histories, adding depth to this account through their oral data. This history has been organised into three chronological periods. It is argued that in the earliest period social workers recognised their professional identity in a common pursuit. Later, they claimed professional autonomy, making efforts to consolidate it although state and employer interests were converging and distancing themselves from those of educators and the social work profession. Most recently, social work is diversifying and the fragmentation which is occuring reflects national and international economic and political systems. The reduction in state responsibility for the direct provision of welfare is shaping social service provision and education and national trends reflect the international scene. It is argued that people, policies and practice have each in their own way influenced the changes that have taken place in the provision and styles of social work education. This study has documented and discussed these influences (covert and overt) and the constraints affecting them. The implications for the future of social work education are inextricably intertwined with the delivery of social work services. Concerns are expressed over the directions currently being taken in both spheres.
Exploring personal and political issues of identity for white Maori women : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University
(Massey University, 1999) Bevan, Kelly
The aim of this research is to explore the personal and political issues of identity for white Maori women in Aotearoa. This was inspired by recognition that the lives of white Maori women are not accounted for in our present society. The life stories of eight women from multi-tribal backgrounds were gathered in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. My life story was written and incorporated both as a reason for conducting this research and as data. The focus of the study is on Maori women, which reflects my gender and cultural identity. Hence my Mana Wahine and Kaupapa Maori values influenced the methodology and theoretical concepts used to add meaning to the narratives. A desire to produce research which would empower and not further colonise those I was researching led me to utilise a structural analysis framework for the structure and analysis of the research. The strategy of 'researching back' was used to locate colonising aspects in the theoretical and historical literature. The design is qualitative, the method is kaupapa Maori and a strategy of multiple triangulation is used. I utilised storytelling in gathering data and content analysis to locate the narrative themes. The participants identify as tangata whenua. The findings support this chosen position and highlight the influential social, political and legislative factors which have shaped their identification processes.
Professional supervision practice under new public management : a study of the perspectives of probation officers and service managers in the community probation service : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 1999) O'Donoghue, Kieran Barry
This thesis examines professional supervision practice under new public management from the perspectives of probation officers and service managers in the Community Probation Service. In particular, the research explores the participants’ philosophy of professional supervision, their recent supervision experiences, and their aspirations and expectations with regard to professional supervision. In order to provide a background for an informed analysis and discussion of the research findings, the thesis discusses the key themes in the social service supervision and new public management literature. It also examines the Community Probation Service’s context and the history of new public management and professional supervision in this organisation. The thesis is a qualitative study that is informed by social work practice theory and utilises the phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches. The research findings show that amongst the participants there was: (a) an unclear philosophy of supervision; (b) minimal recent experience of supervision and little ownership or support for the agency supervision project; (c) a belief that the context increased their need for supervision, but at the same time reduced their ability to receive or participate in it; (d) an expectation that professional supervision would assist them to work more effectively with clients and staff; (e) an expectation of good committed supervisors who would support and help them develop; and (f) an expectation that the agency would support professional supervision through resourcing, guidelines, accredited supervisors and the establishment of a learning culture. The major implications of these findings are that: (1) there is a need for staff to be socialised into professional social service supervision; (2) that the professional supervision programme within the Community Probation Service, as currently implemented, is unlikely to be successful; and (3) that professional social service supervision needs to be focused upon persons and their environments, rather than upon the agency.
The nature and role of the extended family in New Zealand, and its relationship with the State : based on a study of a provincial city : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University
(Massey University, 2000) McPherson, Mervyl J.
In New Zealand there is a widespread perception that European/Pakeha do not have extended families in the way that Maori and Pacific Islands' cultures do. Yet in recent years social policy has been moving away from reliance on the state towards increasing reliance on one's self and one's family. This study uses survey research, a focus group, demographic analysis and policy analysis to investigate the nature of the extended family in predominantly European/Pakeha New Zealand, and perceptions of the respective roles of the family and the state. Discrepancies are identified between what families are doing, what people think they should be doing, and what policy assumes they will do. The key factors affecting the supply of and demand for extended family support are identified and the trends in these analysed. These issues are then integrated in order to assess the implications for policy and the impact of policies on families and the intergenerational social contract. This thesis found that the predominantly European/Pakeha society of New Zealand does have extended families, in the modified sense rather than the classical sense, as categorised by Litwak (1965). That is, extended families which are based on egalitarianism and choice rather than power and control, and are characterised by a loose, informal set of kin relationships involving an interlocking set of nuclear families which may be geographically dispersed and economically independent, but are bound by a sense of obligation based on affective relationships and the exchange of mutual aid services. These family networks are not large, and little support extends to the wider family beyond parents, adult children and siblings. Also of concern for policymakers is that approximately a quarter to a third of participants in this study did not have extended family living close enough to provide any kind of practical support. This study also found that while people generally believe in helping family members, they believe this help should be given by choice, not obligation, and that nuclear family and labour force commitments take priority over commitments to the extended family. A further finding is that in the future we will face increasing demand for support from both family and the state, and a declining supply of family support, especially if policies make it necessary for the young elderly to stay in the labour force. Families are unable and unlikely to do more than they are already doing, which is already the bulk of social support. Theorists such as Thomson (1981) have proposed that there will be breakdown in the intergenerational social contract at the macro-level of the state as a result of neo-liberal policies of self-reliance, particularly for younger generations, and policies which have favoured the older generation at the expense of the young. It is concluded from this study that the balance of support towards the young rather than the old at the micro-level of the family is preventing this macro-level breakdown. But if more responsibility is put onto families, this will cause breakdown in the micro-level intergenerational contract and upset the balance. Thus there is a need for increased rather than decreased state support to complement what families are able to do and prevent breakdown in the intergenerational contract at both the micro-level of the family and the macro-level of society.
Breaking the silence : restorative justice and child sexual abuse : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2001) Jülich, Shirley Jean
This research investigated the relationship between justice and child sexual abuse from the perspective of adult survivors. Utilising participant observation, unstructured interviews and focus groups within a feminist framework, 21 adult survivors of child sexual abuse (18 women and 3 men) were consulted to identify issues that were problematic for them. In addition, 2 jurors, 1 judge and 2 counsellors were interviewed. The findings indicated that child sexual abuse has been shrouded by a conspiracy of silence, caused partly by deeply entrenched structures within society. These forces combined with the complexity of recovery, including the possible impacts of Stockholm Syndrome, and the perceived inability of the criminal justice system to meet their needs, have appeared to silence many survivors of child sexual abuse. A review of the economic consequences and an analysis of the subsequent costs of child sexual abuse have indicated the need to implement programmes that would lessen the burden for victims, offenders, their families and the broader society. Survivors cautiously suggested that restorative justice might be sufficiently flexible to encourage victims of child sexual abuse to criminally report, thereby breaking the silence. A cost benefit analysis of a restorative justice programme indicated that significant savings could be made and highlighted that the prevention of child sexual abuse should be a priority. The findings of this research would have implications for policy makers and all those who provide services to victims and offenders of child sexual abuse. Stockholm Syndrome has highlighted the complexity of the recovery process for victims of child sexual abuse. This syndrome combined with the concerns of adult survivors of child sexual abuse would have implications for practitioners within the traditional criminal justice system and the restorative justice movement. Finally, the costs of child sexual abuse in New Zealand would have implications for justice agencies, health agencies, social welfare organisations and the Accident Compensation Corporation of New Zealand.
The interrelationship between social support, risk-level and safety interventions following acute assessment of suicidal adolescents : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2001) Smith, Deborah Anne
This project was undertaken largely to address (a) the concern that New Zealand has one of the highest rates of youth suicide in the world, and (b) the limited empirical research available on crisis assessment and intervention for suicidal adolescents in New Zealand. Research on youth suicide has primarily focused upon examining factors which place youth at-risk for suicidal behaviour. Social support was chosen as a variable of interest in this study due to (a) its importance in fostering healthy adolescent development, and (b) its identification as an important factor in increasing risk of suicide, particularly if it is lacking or of a negative nature. The present investigation tested a model comprising three constructs: social support (i.e., negative and positive), assessed risk-level of suicide, and safety interventions (e.g., hospitalisation, respite care). Two studies were conducted: an archival study and a vignette study. For the archival study, a record review was conducted using acute assessment reports from the Child, Adolescent and Family Service (CAFS). Data from 50 attempter files and 50 ideator files were collected in order to establish reliable measures for the vignette study. The vignette study involved administering a vignette-style questionnaire to 23 CAFS clinicians. With the exception of the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) scores in the attempter group, the interrater reliability was good on all indices for the archival study. The vignette study indicated adequate reliability for risk-level ratings based on the multi-rater kappa. The archival study demonstrated that there were significant interactions between group and risk-level (recoded), group and negative support severity (recoded), group and positive support, and negative support severity and total safety interventions (recoded). The vignette study revealed significant interactions between negative support severity (without or with positive support) and assessed risk-level, negative support severity (without or with positive support) and total safety interventions (recoded), and assessed risk-level and total safety interventions (recoded). Overall, results from this study indicated that: (a) the greater the level of negative support severity, the higher the risk-level; (b) the greater the risk-level, the greater the number of safety interventions implemented; (c) the presence of positive support, in addition to negative support, appeared to result in lower risk-level assessments, and (d) certain risk-levels were indicative of particular safety interventions. Revisions to the social support model were necessary based on the results obtained. For the vignette study, clinicians' responses with respect to the decision-making process for risk-level and safety interventions were also explored using the principles from a grounded theory approach and inductive content analysis. The results indicated that clinicians use a methodical process when assessing risk-level and making safety intervention recommendations. Process models for assessing risk-level and recommending safety interventions are presented in relation to these findings. This study makes several important contributions to the research on youth suicide by: (a) providing evidence for reliable social support concepts - namely, that of negative support, positive support and negative support severity, (b) assessing the relationship that both negative and positive support have with suicide risk-level, (c) examining the relationship between risk-level assessment and specific individual safety recommendations (other than hospitalisation), and (d) providing evidence of a relationship between negative support severity and recommended safety interventions, not previously tested. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of their application to (a) youth suicide treatment and prevention, (b) current or proposed services and procedures for at-risk youth, and (c) future research.
Senior citizens? : old age and citizenship in provincial New Zealand communities : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University
(Massey University, 2002) Kerr, Alison Lassie
This research considers the extent and quality of the citizenship of older New Zealanders in the "Third Age", a stage in the adult life cycle between the second age of careers, partnership and parenting and the fourth and final phase of (usually) increasing dependency. The study questions: whether 'senior citizens' have access to the material and cultural resources to enable them to choose between different courses of action in their daily lives; whether existing intergenerational relations enable them to appropriate substantive rights and responsibilities; and what are the relational practices and processes, the networks and affiliations, through which citizenship may be 'performed' by older people? This research was carried out with six groups of elderly people in a range of communities in the province of Hawke's Bay on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The purpose of running six different focus groups, each over a six week period, was to generate discussion of the issues for older people as well as individual stories about the lives of elderly people in particular local communities. The aim was to investigate the meaning of old age for elderly New Zealanders by critically analysing the term 'senior citizen'. The study built on contemporary theories of ageing and citizenship, using a narrative collective life history approach in order to focus on older people's personal experience of policy, and the capacity for citizenship that they bring with them into old age. The study also identifies national and local government policies, national and local organisations, media representations of old age, local communities, families and the attitudes of elderly people themselves as important influences on the extent to which they are able to exercise and enjoy their rights and responsibilities as senior citizens. My central thesis is that senior citizenship depends on a civil society which supports autonomy and connectedness for all its citizens. The balance between these two aspects of citizenship is culturally determined and sensitive to outcomes in a range of social domains over the life span. Recommendations focus on self-determination and social inclusion for older people through anti-ageist policies and practices at the national and the local level, and further research into the plans and aspirations of senior citizens.
A study of medical, nursing, and institutional not-for-resuscitation (NFR) discourses : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2002) Bickley Asher, Joy Lynley
This study investigates the way that medical, nursing and institutional discourses construct knowledge in the specific context of Not-for-resuscitation (NFR) in a New Zealand general hospital where NFR guidelines are available in the wards and from the regional ethics committee. The thesis argues that there are ranges of techniques that staff use to construct NFR knowledge, enacted through various forms of speech and silence, which result in orderly and disorderly experiences for patients nearing death. The study was conducted through a critical analysis of the talk of health professionals and the Chairperson of the Regional Ethics Committee. Critical discourse analysis, a methodology that is primarily concerned with a critical analysis of the use of language and the reproduction of dominant ideologies or belief systems in discourse, was employed. The researcher examined the transcribed, audiotaped talk of eleven professional staff members of a large metropolitan general hospital, and the Regional Ethics Committee Chairperson. The results of the analysis indicate that medical discourses do not dominate the construction of NFR knowledge within the institution. Nor do the institutional or ethics committee discourses, written as NFR policy documents, dominate by instilling order into NFR practices with patients. Rather, a range of discourse practices within the disciplines of nursing, medicine, management and policy advice work to determine what happens to patients in the context of NFR and, unexpectedly, cardiopulmonary resuscitation. NFR discourses designed by the institution to influence and standardise practice at the bedside are resisted by professional discourses through the techniques of keeping quiet and keeping secrets, forcing others to keep quiet, delays in speaking up, through to speaking up against opposition. These techniques of speech and silence constitute a divergence between institutional discourses and professional discourses, and divergence within nursing and medical discourses. Both medical and nursing discourses underplay the degree of influence their professional power had over NFR events. This research is potentially significant at two levels; firstly because of what it reveals about the way in which health professionals and policy advisors construct NFR knowledge and secondly, because of the relationship between NFR practices in the health sector and societal ideas about control of death at the beginning of the twenty-first century. These findings will have particular relevance for the shaping of future health care policies. The outcomes of this study also point to the need for further research, both into NFR and into cardio-pulmonary resuscitation events particularly with regard to the implications of the policies for patients and their families.
"Someone to walk with me" : supporting caregivers who look after children with mental health problems in statutory care : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University School of Sociology, Social policy and Social Work
(Massey University, 2004) Wells, Philippa Mary
The role of support to caregivers in strengthening care outcomes was explored for a group of children and young people with mental health problems in the care of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services. Four studies were integrated in a mixed methods design. In the first study a survey of 237 social workers established that informal support and caregiver factors were regarded as more effective than formal support services to caregivers in strengthening care outcomes for this group. Social workers described poor access to mental health services and deficiencies in their support to caregivers looking after children and young people with mental health problems. In the second study a focus group of caregivers viewed effective support as constituting a number of factors, including, informal support from caregiver networks, boundary setting by caregivers, training and support in managing behaviours and participation by children and young people in school or work. The role of religious beliefs, religious networks and respite care, in strengthening care outcomes was emphasised. Caregivers identified poor levels of support from Child, Youth and Family social workers and from mental health services. In the third study, a composite construct for measuring positive care outcomes for children and young people with mental health problems was established by a group of Child, Youth and Family experts, using a Delphi process. In the final study, case history data for a large group (n=1071) of children and young people with mental health problems in care of Child, Youth and Family were explored in a multivariate analysis. This analysis utilised, as independent variables, those factors identified by social workers and caregivers in studies one and two. The composite criterion designed in study three was employed as the dependent variable in this study. Multiple regression procedures provided some evidence for the role of religiously affiliated care and respite care in strengthening care outcomes for this group. The implications of these findings for Child, Youth and Family are discussed.
Subject child : the everyday experiences of a group of small town Aotearoa/New Zealand children : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2004) Sanders, Jacqueline Ruth
This thesis presents an ethnographic account of everyday life for eighteen healthy and safe, small town, Aotearoa/New Zealand children aged between ten and eleven years. It undertakes a social constructionist analysis of five domains of the children's lives; self and identity, their relationships with each other, their relationships with adults, time and space, and safety and risk. These domains reflect the intersection between the children's own lives and their wider contexts. The approach taken is consistent with the new social studies of childhood perspective that has been articulated over the past 15-20 years. This approach, developed in response to a perceived over-determinism in the developmental accounts of childhood, brings to the foreground the need to document more fully children's standpoints. The children held a sense of themselves as good people and their thoughts about the future, relationships and themes of stability were prominent areas of self-development for them. Their friendships provided important social and emotional resources. Making and sustaining friendships involved delicate processes of positioning and while they provided emotional sustenance they could also be a source of confusion and anxiety. Intense friendships were important for both boys and girls. Relationships with adults were critical and time was an important component of good relationships. The children thought about time in a variety of ways, but the linear progression of time from the present out to the future was not a strong component of this. Home was important place to the children, home as stability, as a place for time with parents and for free time were prominent themes. It was also a place of self-care for a number of the children. School time was experienced as time to play with friends and socialise, and schoolwork time. Social time was more prominent in the children's thinking than work time. Global discourses about risk and safety played a powerful role in influencing the ways in which the children spent their time, particularly the ways in which they utilised public spaces. The children were keen to participate in the research and were insightful social commentators demonstrating a passionate interest in being able to express their views and to think about the way that different dimensions of their social worlds influenced the things they were able to do.

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