Research Reports
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/924
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Item From lodgement to cover: a qualitative inquiry into the steps and factors that lead to cover decision for a leptospirosis claim in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Veterinary Studies, Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Uy, Abbie Stephanie S.Leptospirosis is an occupational hazard for people working with animals, and while occupationally-acquired leptospirosis is a compensable condition, the mechanics of the compensation process are not well understood by patients. In addition, much of the crucial decisions affecting the claim outcome are made by treatment providers and insurance claim assessors largely outside of the patient’s purview. This lack of understanding adds to the disease burden experienced by patients. This study was therefore designed to improve the understanding of the compensation process for leptospirosis, by first establishing what are the bases of a claim, and second, investigating how treatment providers and insurance claim assessors evaluate a case or claim. A qualitative approach was utilised in this study. Government reports and publications were analysed in order to determine the formal procedure and requirements of the process, while interviews with treatment providers and insurance claim assessors revealed how the actual process plays out in real life. The results showed that a claim is assessed against two main requirements: having a confirmed diagnosis and having an appropriate exposure. A claim must have sufficient information to support both of these requirements. The criteria for the exposure are set in legislation, but the diagnostic criteria may vary depending on which case definition is used. The results from the study showed that the assessment may be affected by factors like physician experience, laboratory test preference, and patient and employer compliance.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 In what ways did the 2014-2015 Ebola Viral Disease outbreak in Sierra Leone affect women? : an examination of gender and human rights in a major disease outbreak(Massey University, 2015) Oakes, DavidEbola Viral Disease (EBV) is a filovirus with a high mortality rate that ravaged the West African region intensively in the 2014/2015 period, with some cases persisting into 2016. The rapid advance of the illness was characterised by the near collapse of the health system of Sierra Leone, as medical and nursing staff fled or succumbed to the disease. The statistics concerning mortality rates from the illness in West Africa reflect an epidemic in which more women than men have died. These statistics parallel the gendered mortality rates of many natural disasters, and it is clear that epidemics and disasters, when they occur, often reflect pre-existing gender inequalities. This is a fact recognised within the policy structures of many large international NGOs when planning humanitarian response. The reasons for these disproportionate figures are explored within this report using a human rights perspective. This report draws on academic and grey literature, and a small-scale survey of workers involved in caring for those suffering from Ebola, to explore how a person’s level of risk to an event like Ebola and their capacity to respond to or prepare for it, can be affected by a person’s gender, level of poverty, social class, age, ethnicity, and the pre-existing human rights landscape. Human rights are intended to be universal, but as this report will demonstrate, there are many factors limiting the implementation of basic human rights in relation to gender and humanitarian action. This study explores some of the reasons why more women than men died from Ebola in Sierra Leone and why, as many of the survey respondents reported, women suffered disproportionately during the outbreak. The reasons for this are outlined within the findings, but include cultural practices around mortality, gender roles within society, a lack of education leading to an inability to take up preventative health messages, and pre-existing bias against women at many levels of society.Item 'Walking the tightrope' : pregnant women & malnutrition in Aotearoa : how the Sustainable Development Goals 2 & 5 reframe the current discourse(Massey University, 2018) Raven, BrionyIn 2015 a new global development platform, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched and for the first-time developed nations were included in the development agenda. Poverty, food insecurity and inequality in the developed world are now encompassed within this global platform and are open to international standardisation and critique. This presents significant challenges for developed/western countries who have previously looked outwards at developing nations as the subject of the development gaze. This desk-based study explores how developed countries are responding to this new paradigm by looking at a case study in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This case study focusses on SDGs 2: empowerment & 5: food security to address how we can reframe the current discourse on pregnant women and malnutrition in Aotearoa. Using a critical discourse analysis (CDA) to interrogate the current discourse across three platforms this study has three key findings (themes). Firstly, pregnant women are singularly responsible for ensuring adequate nutrition; secondly, a healthy pregnancy requires women to be educated to adhere to complex food guidelines; and lastly the use of fear and monitoring of women to motivate adherence. An overarching or ‘grand theme’ which is summarised as ‘walking a tightrope’ finds that women are expected to achieve unrealistic nutritional targets within the realities of everyday life. However, the SDG’s provide an opportunity to reframe the ‘problem’ of malnutrition in pregnancy to one of food security and empowerment of women. This ‘reframing’ more appropriately addresses the complexity of issues which underlies malnutrition and provides a framework for government and social policy to robustly address malnutrition for pregnant women. This report therefore concludes that this new global focus on developed countries presents a significant opportunity for them to adopt development frameworks to achieve the SDGs.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 Para Kore : an alternative voice for a zero waste world : a research project presented to Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute of Development Studies, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Banfield, JaneIssues of solid waste pollution are viewed as a serious threat to the global Sustainable Development Goals. Waste minimisation in New Zealand centres around a loose government policy framework underpinned by a neoliberal belief in market-driven solutions from the business sector. The traditional ‘waste hierarchy’ model (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Recover) remains at the core of legislation, while the more recently developed ‘Circular Economy’ model is increasingly viewed by both state and business sector as offering new hope. However, strategies for waste minimisation in New Zealand are still failing to reduce waste, as exemplified by the annual growth in waste-to-landfill rates. Given the failures mentioned above, this research looked to investigate the merits of an alternative indigenous approach to waste minimisation based upon a different epistemology. Framed by a hope-filled post-development outlook, an in-depth critique of current literature regarding mainstream waste minimisation strategies was undertaken alongside a qualitative case study with Para Kore Marae Inc., a Māori not-for-profit organisation active in 12 regions of New Zealand. The study revealed there are contradictions within mainstream waste minimisation strategies. Resolution of waste issues is constrained by political adherence to neoliberal economic theory which promotes continuous growth in production and consumption. A dominant metanarrative around waste has developed allowing the collective impact of factors incompatible with waste eradication to remain unacknowledged and unaddressed by state actors. The Para Kore model contrasts significantly with technocentric state-led approaches. Para Kore Marae Inc. views solid waste issues through the spiritual lens of kaitiakitanga, the relationship and consequent responsibility of each person to the natural world. For participants adopting a Para Kore approach, intrinsic motivation developed to align waste reduction behaviours with personal values and cultural principles. In addition to reducing waste-to-landfill, the Para Kore approach resulted in holistic improvements to individual and community wellbeing. Cost and time constraints to waste reduction were not found to be an issue. The most significant challenge to the model was ‘burnout’ experienced by the ‘champion’ facilitators. The Para Kore approach is identified as reflecting the emergent post-neoliberal political framework, the ‘Politics of Belonging’. It is concluded that Para Kore’s approach has significant value not only in engendering waste reduction behaviours within organisations and households but also in reinvigorating individual and community wellbeing.Item At war on Twitter? : the impact of gendered harassment across digital platforms on high-profile women in broadcast journalism : a 60-credit Journalism project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Journalism at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2017) Graham-McLay, CharlotteThis research project explores the impact of gendered harassment across digital platforms on high-profile women in broadcast journalism. The journalistic feature article collated stories of gendered harassment that women journalists had experienced online, most of which they had not spoken publicly about before. The interviews conducted for this feature found a lack of policy in newsrooms to address gendered harassment, and no strong awareness or understanding of the issue in other places journalists might expect to be able to seek redress, such as ACC, counselling services, or their union. Scholarly research into the effects of repeated exposure to trauma on journalists is a fledgling field, and journalists’ exposure to trauma in digital spaces is even less examined or understood. This leaves a broad scope for further research. This project found, through a content analysis, evidence that women broadcasters were subject to more gendered feedback than men. While women broadcasters interviewed said they could weather abuse, most acknowledged that gendered harassment took some form of toll, and that they had been forced to develop mechanisms to cope with it. In keeping with global trends, this project found most New Zealand newsrooms surveyed are not proactively addressing the problem.Item "Falling into the urban trap?" : practices of international Non Government Organisations in East Timor(Massey University, 2002) Roy, Dallasn/aItem A preliminary investigation of the Pohangina Valley river terraces : a dissertation ... for the degree of B.A. (Hons.) in Geography at Massey University(Massey University, 1976) Challands, Keith In/a
