Research Reports
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Item Wairua and the relationship it has with learning te reo Māori within Te Ataarangi : a report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University(Massey University, 2005) Browne, Marcia HThis “compressed ethnographic study” (LeCompte & Schensul 1999:59,88) investigates wairua as an aspect of second language acquisition within the organisation of Te Ataarangi, and suggests that wairua is an important phenomenon within the discipline of second language teaching and learning. As this particular area of enquiry has not been a subject of research, the literature review was essentially interdisciplinary. A literature search that incorporated Ethno-linguistics, Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Physics and Indigenous epistemologies provided the support for clear understandings that are being discussed in this thesis. An analysis of ‘organic intellectual’ experiences and flax-root theory regarding wairua and its relationship with learning te reo Māori was interpreted through Māori and Language Acquisition epistemologies based upon implicit learning, and then tied back to other disciplines when the literature was scarce. Wairua a spiritual phenomenon, as described by participants in this study enters the learning environment through a variety of means, which can then be utilised within the teaching and learning process. It is posited that this is essentially through a physical gateway as paralinguistic phenomena, such that sound vibration derived from positive thought intent with related kinaesthetic body responses act as vehicles to transport wairua. Thus wairua becomes an affective input for the implicit unconscious of students. Common links, patterns and themes within participant interview material triangulated with observations, written teaching resources and documents were arrived at with the aid of NVivo, a computer program designed specifically to “give access to data” that “can be examined and analysed” (Gibbs 2002:11) in order to build theoretical understandings. Teaching principles and practices identified by participants as the essential keys in accessing wairua to enhance the learning of te reo Māori are documented. This study opens the field for further investigation which potentially strengthens the work being done to “further current goals for Māori wellbeing” (Durie1995:8) within the cultural framework of a Māori world view.Item Organisational self-assessment : a catalyst for development outcomes? : a research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2002) Wayne, Robert DavidOrganisational self-assessment (OA) is an emerging development practice, often situated within capacity-building interventions. This study places OA at the confluence of the literature on participation, organisation development, and capacity-building for sustainable development. Reports on the nature and merits of several techniques are documented, and a framework developed to describe and classify them. The study then turns to investigate the extent to which organisational self-assessment is able to influence development outcomes. Using field-level research with community based organisations (CBO's), local NGO's, and health facilities in Bangladesh, the Appreciative Inquiry technique is evaluated for its ability to meet the stated objectives of the implementing organisations, the participants' experience of the process, and its potential to catalyse development. OA is found to have significant potential to generate development outcomes through its ability to combine the motivation for collective action with a plan of specific actions. This study recommends the extension of its use to new areas of application, such as community disaster preparedness and community water supply management, though with several caveats about how this is implemented.Item "Falling into the urban trap?" : practices of international Non Government Organisations in East Timor(Massey University, 2002) Roy, Dallasn/aItem The model suburb : the Savage Crescent State Housing Precinct, Palmerston North : a research exercise presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History at Massey University(Massey University, 2004) Bragg, AlaricA significant aspect of the policy of the First Labour Government of New Zealand upon coming to power in 1935 was housing. Housing was always an issue for governments and political parties during the early half of the Twentieth .ctfntury in New Zealand, but it was only after the Depression of the 1930s that it was brought to the fore. In fact, the history of government housing schemes in New Zealand dates back to the mid- l 890s, when health reformers argued that slum dwellings would become a feature of towns and cities in the country unless more adequate housing was built to replace them. In 1900, they successfully pressed for inclusion of municipal housing schemes in the Municipal Corporations Act of that year, which permitted local bodies to both buy land and construct workers dwellings on it, and to buy existing houses for workers. 1 The act would become the basis of the ideals that shaped the planning, construction and promotion of government housing schemes in years to come. [From Introduction.]Item Fools abroad : the town-gown relationship between Massey University students and Palmerston North at capping time, 1963-1973 : a research essay presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History at Massey University(Massey University, 2003) Dollery, HelenIn May of 2003, a letter appeared in the.Manawatu Evening Standard as part of an ongoing debate in Palmerston North about changes to the city's central green space, The Square. The correspondent questioned the City Council's intention to 'revamp' The Square in order to attract more visitors to the city: The idea is that if we brush up the "image" of the city, then people will flock here and life will become more "vibrant". Well, the city fathers seem to have forgotten that Massey University causes heaps of people to come here who certainly otherwise wouldn't, and if they haven't made the place more vibrant over the last 30 years, then it isn't ever going to happen. The only time it used to happen was when the students cavorted through the centre with their annual capping parade, and the dour councillors cancelled that ages ago (in fact, the cancelling came about after a city councillor was hit in the kisser by a lump of horse manure flung from one of the floats.) ... Recently, on the same day, police moved swiftly to disperse a group of young people who had gathered in The Square - but looked on benignly when another group of young people ran amok, causing fires in Ada Street several times during the evening.1 The difference was, that one group was from one social class and race, and the other from another. Social problems and "crime" are so often the result of the perceptions of those in authority who decide what can be tolerated and what can't... There are three elements in this letter that are of particular interest to this study of 'cavorting students' and 'dour councillors': the impact of Massey University students upon the city in general; the specific impact of student-generated capping activities upon the city's residents3; and the varying flexibility of official tolerance in relation to student activities, as opposed to those of the rest of the city's population - the license granted them to behave in particular ways, at particular times. This study examines the town-gown relationship between Massey University students and Palmerston North residents at capping time, from 1963-73, with particular reference to capping stunts and student processions (Procesh). Other strong facets of student generated capping activity included a Revue, Graduation Ball and the publication of Masskerade, the annual capping magazine. While each of these provides interesting insights into how students celebrated capping, this research exercise concentrates on public manifestations of capping as an indicator of the 'town-gown' dynamic. [From Introduction]Item Change content and aid effectiveness : how the size of change content affects implementation of technical assistance recommendations in developing Pacific Island countries(2008) Cotton, MargaretInternational aid agencies offer development aid with the expectation that developing countries will transform to such an extent that they can look after themselves, yet many countries have not developed as expected. This study identifies how the size of the change content of technical assistance recommendations affects their implementation: Technical assistance recommendations from the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre, Fiji, to developing Pacific Island countries were studied. A content analysis was conducted to assess size using traditional transactional and transformational change definitions, and a survey questionnaire was used to assess size from the perspective of the technical assistance recipients. The content analysis findings suggest the majority of the changes are transactional, whereas, the recipients have rated the majority of the changes as large. The recipient’s perspective of size was most indicative of the likely implementation of the change. Changes rated as ‘small’ by the recipients are almost certain to be implemented whereas changes rated as ‘large’ have only a one-in-three chance of being implemented. If technical assistance recommendations are transactional manageable reforms in the eyes of aid agencies but are not seen the same way by recipients the chances a recommendation will be implemented, and the technical assistance successful, are compromised. The study supports the notion that to be effective technical assistance recommendations need to be seen through the eyes of the recipient.Item Maori in governance: The voices of Maori trustees(2006) Turner, MartinWhile the education reforms of 1989 promised much for Maori in education, Maori membership on Boards of Trustees continues to be disproportionately low against that of non-Maori members. The governance role is significant in influencing the provision and outcomes of education for Maori students, but there has been little research into the experiences of Maori in school governance, or the factors that impact on successful partnerships between Maori and Pakeha on school boards. This research project presents the governance stories of six Maori trustees from different mainstream primary schools. With reference to the Treaty of Waitangi, it explores Maori and Pakeha conceptions of partnership, and discusses the effectiveness of the education reforms in promoting and sustaining partnership with Maori at school governance level. Through interviews conducted as part of this research, Maori trustees' understandings of their role in governance, the board's obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi, and the expectations placed on them as Maori by the board, and by their own Maori community, are explored. This project highlights some of the complex issues Maori trustees face within a governance structure which is incongruous with traditional Maori principles of collectivism, and illuminates the duality of role many Maori negotiate as school trustees.Item When prudence is reckless : rethinking the role of project risk management : a 152.785 (25 point) research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management at Massey University(Massey University. Department of Management, 2005) Busch, AdrianDespite the widespread use of project risk management, the results of such efforts are often underwhelming. Do project risk management practices somehow miss the point? To explore this idea I use a critical management studies framework to study project risk management. The approach prescribed in the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge is compared to the very different approach of a professional project manager. A theorised analysis of the difference between these approaches finds that they employ the logic of different knowledge-constitutive interests thereby making them suitable for different purposes. The study concludes with a discussion of how the results of this analysis can be presented to practitioners in a way consistent with the emancipatory agenda of critical management studies.
