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    The everyday conduct of inter-ethnic marriages in Indonesia : participants navigating points of tension and cultivating harmony through adaptive socio-cultural practices : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Yulianto, Jony Eko
    Inter-ethnic marriages are a pressing issue in many culturally diverse countries. In Indonesia, inter-ethnic marriages comprise approximately 11% of all marriages. Researchers have predicted that this number will increase due to increasingly positive public perceptions of inter-ethnic marriages among younger generations of Indonesians. However, more research is needed to deepen present understandings of the everyday conduct of such unions. This thesis explores the dynamic inter-cultural, relational, spatial and material dimensions of the everyday conduct of 10 inter-ethnic marriages between Javanese and Chinese persons in East Java, Indonesia. Particular attention is paid to how couples navigate points of inter-cultural tension in their shared efforts to realise harmony in their marriages. This is done through adaptive socio-cultural practices. I also consider how inter-ethnic marriages can function as encounter spaces within which people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds come together to cultivate shared and culturally hybrid lives that draw from the cultural traditions of both partners. This thesis is based around three international publications. The first article conceptualises inter-ethnic marriages as third spaces for inter-cultural re-assemblage. I document the use of various agentive social practices that enable participants to combine key elements of Javanese and Chinese Indonesian cultural assemblages within their inter-ethnic marriages. The second article explores how inter-cultural tensions in the conduct of inter-ethnic marriages are managed by participants through often mundane social practices that contribute to the socio-cultural construction of various locales, across which couples forge their lives together. The third article documents how money, related objects, and practices are often implicated in the inter-cultural relational dynamics, tensions and culturally hybrid practices that emerge when persons from different cultural backgrounds cooperate to forge new lives together. Overall, this thesis contributes to the psychology of inter-ethnic marriages by offering new insights into the ways in which Javanese and Chinese Indonesians conduct their everyday lives together. In particular, this thesis highlights the centrality of approaching inter-ethnic marriages between Javanese and Chinese Indonesians as an intimate and socio-structural process that needs to be understood within the broader context of historical inter-group relations. Accordingly, this research bridges the gap between local experiences of conducting inter-ethnic marriages and broader societal shifts in terms of how members of Javanese and Chinese cultural groups can strive agentively to cultivate more harmonious lives together.
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    Disrupting neoliberal narratives : millennial experiences of work in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Trueman, Nicolette
    Young New Zealanders today face a rapidly changing world of work. The continuity of capitalism and its reinvention through political-economic neoliberal reform, the introduction of the gig economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution shape contemporary work. Situated within those shifts has been an upsurge in non-standard employment, rapid developments in technology, a globalised approach to work and an increasing onus on individuals to take sole responsibility for crafting their career and working future. For young people entering the workforce, this means they are now faced with pressures to adapt to increasingly changing contexts. This research inserts itself amongst arguments that ask how changes to the world of work have impacted young people’s experiences of employment. Growing bodies of scholarship suggest millennials (born in the 1980s and 1990s) are more likely to experience uncertain employment outcomes and that New Zealand millennials have ‘grown up neoliberal’. This research builds on a relatively underexplored area: millennial experiences of work in the New Zealand labour market. It contributes to discussions on how millennials locate themselves within – and navigate – uncertain neoliberal times. Using a multi-method approach, this research interviewed twelve Auckland-based working millennials, six of whom also attended a focus group. Despite engaging with different occupations and contract types, participants in this study had clear desires for self-development, growth and career progression. However, this was clouded by a general anxiety about stagnating or being ‘static’ in their careers. This research confirms that young people’s experiences and decisions are shaped, to an extent, by neoliberal norms and ideals. However, whilst neoliberalism depicts individuals as free and equal to access opportunities and shape their own success, my research showed a complexity within the individual experience of work. Participants often recognised the external structures that influenced their environments. Rather than internalising and individualising their experiences of work, participants used markers of identity (age, ethnicity, gender) to understand their employment experiences, indicating a tendency to both conform to and resist aspects of neoliberal governmentality.