Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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    Democracy and belief in conspiracy theories in New Zealand
    (Australian Political Studies Association, 2022) Marques MD; Hill SR; Clarke EJR; Williams M; Ling M; Kerr J; Douglas K; Cichocka A; Sibley C

    The COVID-19 pandemic supercharged the spread of fake news, misinformation, and conspiracy theories worldwide. Using a national probability sample of adults from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study during 2020 (17–99 years old; M = 48.59, SD = 13.86; 63% women, 37% men; N = 41,487), we examined the associations between agreement with general conspiracy beliefs and political indicators of intention to vote and satisfaction with government, alongside political factors including trust in politicians, political efficacy, identity centrality, and political ideology. Left-wing political ideology, trust in politicians, and political efficacy accounted for most of the explained variance in satisfaction with the government. General conspiracy belief was also a unique contributor to lower satisfaction with the government. We also found a curvilinear relationship between political ideology with heightened belief in conspiracies at both ideological extremes and the centre. Findings are discussed in terms of the consequences of conspiracy belief on democratic engagement.

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    Australasian Public Awareness and Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Motivational Correlates
    (1/02/2022) Marques MD; Ling M; Williams MN; Kerr JR; McLennan J
    Belief in conspiracies is not restricted to the fringe dwellers of society. International research suggests that such beliefs are quite common and that conspiracy theories may serve three basic psychological motives (i.e., epistemic, existential, and relational) for individuals. Yet, little is known about conspiracy theory awareness or belief in Australasia. We report the first large systematic investigation of system-justifying motives using two nationally representative samples of Australians (n = 1011) and New Zealanders (n = 754). Our findings show that almost all are aware of local and international conspiracies, the majority endorse one or more, and that all three psychological motives consistently relate to conspiracy belief, but not to awareness. In a series of hierarchical multiple regressions, we find that relational (i.e., increased anomie and disillusionment with the government) and existential motives (i.e., less trust in others and increased religiosity) are uniquely and relatively more important than epistemic needs (i.e., decreased analytic thinking) as predictors of increased local and international conspiracy belief. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of understanding conspiracy theories as an ideological belief system that may function to serve underlying psychological motives.
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    Security beyond the border: exploring Australia and New Zealand trans-Tasman relations in a globalised world
    (Informa UK Limited trading as Taylor & Francis Group, 2021-11) Ferrill J; Nicklin G; Legrand T; McComas H
    This article addresses contemporary security challenges related to borders within Oceania, focusing on trans-Tasman relations. We address border security between Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia as a matter of an ascendant relationship, based on coordination and cooperation. By interrogating shared and divergent attributes between the nations, we are able to provide an overview of approaches towards regional threats. Behind these approaches are socio-political contexts, including drivers and authorities for cooperation as well as cultural and political identities. Importantly, the evolution of shared practices between the nations and a future scan of security in the region lead to important geopolitical considerations.
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    Airbnb and the paradox of the body: The biopolitical management of hosts in four tourist towns in New Zealand.
    (SAGE Publications, 1/04/2021) Pennell S
    irbnb is emblematic of a set of business practices commonly known as ‘the sharing economy’. It is a disruptive business model of homestay accommodation that has exploited conditions of growing precarity of work since 2008. Work precarity is particularly evident in regional tourist areas in New Zealand, which historically experience seasonal, part-time work and low wages. Airbnb draws specifically on the rhetoric of micro-entrepreneurism, with focus on individual freedom and choice: appealing concepts for those experiencing precarity. This article challenges the rhetoric of Airbnb and investigates notions of home, authenticity and hospitality that are reconceptualized under a specific regime of digital biopolitics. Drawing on research conducted in four regional tourist towns in New Zealand this article analyses the biopolitical interpellations that impact hosts’ subjectivities as entities in motion and considers the ways that the rationalities of Airbnb’s algorithms modulate the embodied behaviours of its hosts.