Social Policy and Social Work
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/1265
Browse
24 results
Search Results
Item Successful ageing : a critical analysis : a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Sociology, Social Policy, and Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2006) Holmes, JeanneThe demographics and implications of the growth of the world's population of older people have been well publicised. Frequently, this is linked to concerns about growing demands for social services. In liberal western nations, this rise in the proportion of elderly people is occurring at a period in history when governments are attempting to contain state spending on health care and welfare. Within this context, the gerontological concept of 'successful ageing', which encourages productivity and self-reliance among older people, has emerged. The term 'successful ageing' was coined by R. J. Havighurst in 196l and developed by Rowe and Kahn into a gerontological concept in 1998. Rowe and Kahn's search to identify the factors "that conspire to put one octogenarian on cross-country skis and another in a wheelchair" led them to put forward the view that 'successfully aged' old people are those who remain healthy and socially engaged. The concept of successful aging is widely regarded as promoting well-being in old age. As a result, it has become highly influential in the fields of nursing, social work, and social care. However, the concept has also attracted criticism, mainly for praising the fortunate and privileged elders who have managed to prolong healthy middle age; whilst labelling unwell, disabled, and lonely old people as unsuccessful. In this thesis, my central criticism of the concept of successful ageing is that its definition of 'success' in old age is not based on the views and real life experiences of older people, but instead, on the expertise of scientists and researchers, many of whom have yet to experience the decline and losses normally associated with old age. Consequently, there is a significant difference between the concept of successful ageing and a proportion of elderly people regarding the requirements for the best possible old age. The purpose of this study is to discover the factors which a diverse group of old people regard as essential to optimal old age. It compares and contrasts their self-assessed components of well-being with the externally assessed components of 'successful aging'. The process involved in-depth research with thirty elderly people in New Zealand and the United States. The majority were women. Several ethnic groups were represented. Participants included First Nations people, first generation immigrants, and the descendants of European settlers. Although it was not intentional, my entire sample consisted of people who would have been defined as unsuccessfully aged by the 'successful ageing' paradigm. Yet these people showed resilience, resourcefulness, and often, great satisfaction with their lives. This research demonstrates that there is an incomplete fit between the factors, which older people say produce the best possible old age, and those promoted by the concept of successful ageing. It concludes that in order to promote optimum well-being among older people, it is necessary to take note of the experiences, views, and values of elders themselves.Item 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.Item 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 AnneThis 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.Item 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 JeanThis 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.Item 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 LynleyThis 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.Item 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 LassieThis 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.Item "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 MaryThe 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.Item Ka haere tonu te mana o ngā wahine Māori : Māori women as protectors of te ao Māori knowledge : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2009) Ruwhiu, Paulé ArohaMāori women play a critical role in whānau, hapū and iwi as whare tangata (procreators) and as whare mātauranga (repositories of knowledge). Wahine hold specific knowledge pertaining to their roles and responsibilities. As the primary nurturer to their young, they have a prime opportunity to provide this essential knowledge to the next generation. Historically, this occurred through oriori; however in recent times these processes have evolved to include technological advancements in communication. This research examined the nature of te ao Māori knowledge and the processes used to transmit it through three generations of Māori women in three whānau. It explores the roles and responsibilities of Māori women in pre-colonial Māori society, the influences of the colonisation process and Māori women’s resilience to continue to pass on the practices of their tūpuna. The methodology drew on aspects of three different theories in order to address the needs of the participants as historically oppressed, minority indigenous Māori women. Critical theory acknowledged the oppression and minority status as well as encouraging the sharing of experiences. Kaupapa Māori theory localised the issues of Māori in relation to the colonisation process and mana wahine theory identifies the significant roles and responsibilities of Māori women as leaders/agents of change within their whānau, hapū and iwi. A qualitative approach allowed the information gathered to be conducted similarly to Māori oral traditions. It was identified from the understandings gathered from the participants that significant te ao Māori knowledge has been passed down through the generations. It also showed that the knowledge has changed from generation to generation and the passing on of knowledge has also changed due to the social and technological advancements associated with development and outside influences on the younger generation. This thesis confirms that Māori women are resilient and some have been able to continue to pass on te ao Māori knowledge despite the challenges of the rural to urban shift and the effects of colonisation. It also encourages women and whānau who have not been privilege to this knowledge to begin the journey to reclaim their right and provides some strategies for doing this. It celebrates the voices of three whānau who have demonstrated their strength to maintain the philosophies of traditional Māori.Item Tongan metaphors of social work practice : Hangē ha pā kuo fa'u´ : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2005) Mafileʻo, Tracie AilongThis study explores Tongan social work practice and examines how social and community work is constructed from a Tongan worldview. Tongan social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand participated in individual interviews and focus group meetings which explored the Tongan values, knowledge, skills and processes foundational to their practice. The participants' narratives contribute to an understanding of Tongan conceptions of wellbeing, personal and social change and to an identification of key components of a Tongan theoretical framework for social and community work practice. This exploratory study contributes to the growing literature articulating indigenous and non-western frameworks for social and community work practice. Seeking to draw on a Tongan interpretive framework, the thesis employs metaphors, in particular two fishing practices (pola and uku), to draw the findings together. Pola, a community fishing practice, illustrates a Tongan social welfare system comprised of core values, namely: fetokoni'aki (mutual helpfulness), tauhi vā (looking after relationships), faka'apa'apa (respect) and 'ofa (love). Maintaining this Tongan system in the diaspora is central to the purpose of Tongan social and community work and the values themselves are a basis for practice. Other key concepts are shown to define a Tongan practice framework and these are identified as: fakafekau'aki (connecting), a'u tonu (going in person), lotu (spirituality/prayer/religion), fakatōkilalo (humility), fie'aonga (wanting to be useful), matakāinga (behaving like family) and 'osikiavelenga (doing utmost). The uku metaphor draws parallels to specialised practices of fishing or diving under the reef, around pupu'a puhi (blowholes). Similarly, Tongan social and community work involves specific processes which draw on a constellation of skills and values. Fakatoukatea (skills in opposite directions) is important for bridging Tongan and pālangi contexts, for working across various fields of practice and for adopting family-like roles as a social worker. Lea fakatonga (Tongan language), hua (humour)and feongo'i'aki (intuitive use of feelings) are important aspects of a Tongan social work approach. Tongan social and community work is located primarily within kāinga (extended family) and community. This location of social work reconstructs conventional conceptions of professionalism and relationships become a key force for change within a Tongan framework. A balance between a directive and empowerment approach needs to be achieved and an advocacy emphasis is required given the position of Tongans in the diaspora. This thesis demonstrates that a framework for social and community work derived from a Tongan worldview: provides new discourses and thinking within the critical postmodern tradition; is negotiated alongside other discourses thus creating spaces of possibility; is characterised by layers of ethnic specific, indigenous and humanity level differences and commonalities; emphasises the moral-artistic nature of social and community work; and challenges social work to be more diverse in terms of practice competencies, supervision, cross-cultural practice, education and community development. The thesis argues that if social and community work is to be transformative, it must itself be transformed and its very foundations reshaped by Tongan and other indigenous, non-western voices.Item Career break or broken career? : mothers' experiences of returning to paid work : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2007) Ang, Ee KhengServicemen returning from two World Wars were granted assistance in finding work, retraining and other benefits in recognition of the sacrifices they had made. Yet mothers' returning to work after time out bearing and raising children are reliant on a booming economy to obtain even limited entry to the labour market, and the work obtained is very often inferior to the jobs held by women before becoming mothers. Currently due to lower fertility rates and the ageing populations of the world's richer nations, a shortage of working-age people is predicted to continue into at least the middle of the twenty-first century. To overcome this shortfall, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advises its member states to assist mothers to return to paid work sooner. Most OECD nations are complying, with varying degrees of success. Some policy frameworks make this goal more easily attainable than others. Mothers in liberal welfare states often return to paid work later than they might otherwise prefer. Many returners are overqualified for the work they are doing. While there appears to be relatively few barriers to re-entry, the choice of re-entry occupations are limited and returners are predominantly offered low status jobs with no career opportunities at the back of the job queue and gender queue. Mothers who interrupt their careers by taking a career break for childbearing and rearing generally face downward occupational mobility and loss of lifetime incomes. This thesis assesses the experiences of mothers who return to employment in one liberal nation, New Zealand. It applies Esping-Andersen's three models of welfare states and Reskin and Roos' gender queues model to the situation of returners. The study investigates the precise nature of the obstacles and processes encountered by a number of mothers attempting to resume a career. It argues that social policies matter: returners in countries where state intervention is more widespread and where there is universal, extensive and generous social provision and support for working mothers are economically better off. The research methods include in-depth interviews and a focus group with mothers, a mail questionnaire and interviews with employers, and a study of recent and current New Zealand and overseas government policies to assist working parents. The findings of this thesis are that regardless of skill levels, New Zealand returners are consigned to low status occupations where they are not fully integrated into the 'normal' full-time workforce with career opportunities. These mothers generally suffer more than one episode of returning to the back of the queue. They also earn less (weekly and annually) than mothers who do not take career breaks. The study identifies social policy frameworks and employers' policies and practices as factors contributing to the processes whereby returners are relegated to the back of the queue. Although New Zealand has recently brought in policies to assist mothers to return to paid work these initiatives have not addressed the processes that currently confine returners in low status, part-time employment. Policies similar to those created to specifically target the needs of ex-servicemen would go a long toward assisting mothers to access higher status and better-paid jobs at the head of the queue. The thesis concludes with policy recommendations to facilitate mothers' integration into such jobs.
- «
- 1 (current)
- 2
- 3
- »