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    The relationship between self-construal and psychological and socio-cultural adjustment of Asian Indian international students studying in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North
    (Massey University, 2015) Cooper, Mary Christine
    New Zealand has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of Asian Indian international students undertaking study in this country in recent years, with the majority choosing a Polytechnic Institute to pursue their tertiary education. This phenomenon is part of a global trend which has encouraged a large body of literature describing international students’ acculturation and adjustment experiences. However, as little research centres on Indian students, this study seeks to address in some way that gap by exploring the association between self-construal and socio-cultural and psychological adjustment of Indian international students to life in New Zealand. A total of 39 Indian students, studying at Waiariki Institute of Technology, 63% of whom were males, completed an online survey. The survey comprised of a number of measures investigating the four hypotheses which explore student self-construal and adjustment and those factors that predict and mediate the adjustment of Indian students. The findings of this study show that in spite of India being described as a collectivist and traditional family-centred culture, Indian students adopt a bicultural approach as early as six months after their arrival in New Zealand. They show positive levels of adjustment, with social connectedness and English language fluency having a partial mediating effect on the relationship between the horizontal-relational dimension of self-construal and psychological adjustment. While there are a number of limitations to this study, the findings are encouraging and suggest that Indian students possess a number of attributes that facilitate their adjustment. The influence of the horizontal-collective dimension of self-construal on Indian students’ adjustment highlights the importance of on-campus strategies to encourage the development of meaningful relationships among students which support ongoing adjustment to academic study and life in New Zealand.
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    A student music therapist's exploration of her cultural identities in relation to music therapy practice in a specialist music therapy centre in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Therapy at Massey University, Mt Cook, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Han, Hee Hyun
    This heuristic research explores a student music therapist’s (SMT’s) journey of discovery with respect to her cultural identities in relation to music therapy (MT) practice with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. A review of the literature was undertaken to investigate issues of identity in relation to MT practice. In order to analyse and evaluate the SMT’s experience of working with culturally diverse clients, secondary analysis of the student’s reflexive journal was used to identify the relationships between the SMT’s cultural identities and her MT practice with clients. Four main themes emerged during the process of thematic analysis of data: experiencing strong feelings as an SMT; observing individual reactions as an SMT and interpreting clients’ reactions; making connections and disconnections with clients; and learning to adapt and refine the use of MT methods. The research emphasised how a student can learn about practice and research through reflexive self-examination, and raised awareness of the complex interactions of identities of therapist and client that occur in MT practice.
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    Exploring Māori identity behind closed doors : an investigation of Māori cultural identity and offender change within Waikeria Prison's Māori Focus Unit, Te Aō Marama : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Chalmers, Tess
    The Ministry of Justice (2013) continually reports an over-representation of Maori within the incarcerated population. An attempt to address these concerns led to the development of the Maori Focus Unit (MFU). The MFU aims to strengthen an offender’s Maori cultural identity through therapeutic programmes rich in tikanga Maori (customs), potentially resulting in offenders, once released from prison, leading pro-social, non-offending lifestyles (Department of Corrections, 2009b; Ministerial Review Report, 2005). However, limited studies inform the relationship between MFU participation, Maori cultural identity and offender change. The current research, based at Waikeria Prison’s MFU, Te Ao Marama, attempted to explore offender change through cultural identity theory of indigenous offending (Chalmers, Williams, & Gavala, 2012; Snowball and Weatherburn, 2008). This theory proposed that, through the destructive effects of colonisation, indigenous peoples lost aspects of their values, beliefs and traditions, while becoming acculturated into the colonising population. This was suggested to have resulted in a decrease in Maori cultural identity, wellbeing and pro-social behaviour, and an increase in anti-social attitudes, cognitions and behaviour (Gale, Bailey-Harris, & Wundersitz, 1990; Pearson, 2001). The current study employed a repeated measures research design in the naturalistic setting of Te Ao Marama. Quantitative measures explored the relationship between Maori cultural identity, wellbeing, anti-social cognitions and attitudes, and pro-social and anti-social behaviour over time spent in Te Ao Marama. Further, participant feedback generated through interviews explored what offenders believed contibuted to any changes experienced. Results suggested that offenders experienced a significant increase in Maori cultural identity, wellbeing and pro-social behaviour, and a significant decrease in anti-social attitudes, cognitions and behaviour over time spent in Te Ao Marama. Furthermore, offenders predominantly reported that their experience in Te Ao Marama had strengthened their Maori cultural identity, and that as a result, they had experienced the changes across the aforementioned constructs. In conclusion, the study may potentially provide information in the establishment of other therapeutic environments aimed at increasing Maori cultural identity.
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    Cultural identity and academic achievement of Māori undergraduate university students : a thesis presented in partial fulfulment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Bennett, Simon Te Manihi
    Cultural identity, academic outcome and psychological wellbeing were investigated among a non-random sample of 72 undergraduate Māori university students studying at Massey University. Student problems were examined to identify the types of difficulties that were most prevalent among this population. The relationships between student problems and academic outcome, and student problems and psychological wellbeing were then examined to assess the degree to which cultural identity moderates these relationships. Major findings are that (a) there are consistent negative relationships between student problems and grade point average, and student problems and perceived stress levels; (b) cultural identity is associated with a number of positive psychological and educational outcomes; (c) cultural identity moderates the effect of student problems on grade point average in that a high degree of problems were associated with decreases in grade point average among respondents with low cultural identity, while among respondents with high cultural identity student problems had little negative effect on grade point average; (d) cultural identity moderates the effect of student problems on perceived stress in that under conditions of low problems, students low in cultural identity have significantly higher levels of perceived stress in comparison with students high in cultural identity. Despite limitations the findings have important implications for Māori students, deliverers of tertiary education, tertiary education providers, and those involved in the development and implementation of tertiary education policy. The findings also highlight the need for further research aiming to optimise positive academic and psychological outcome among Māori students.
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    Cultural and linguistic adaptation among Japanese women migrants in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Languages at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1986) Natusch, Barry Antony
    A survey af the cultural and linguistic adaptation of 76 married Japanese women in New Zealand was carried out by means of interviews and language tests. Two basic sub-groups were identified: those who were married to Japanese husbands (INTRA subjects) and those who were interculturally married (INTER subjects). A number of marked differences, in particular those related to age and marriage type, were observed to exist between these INTRA and INTER groups. The INTER subjects appeared to have made a smoother cultural adaptation to life in New Zealand than those in the INTRA group. The INTRA subjects all identified themselves culturally as Japanese as did the more recently arrived INTER subjects. However, some of the INTER group who had lived in New Zealand for many years appeared to have a cultural identity which was neither fully Japanese nor western. The migrants continued to maintain the Japanese language for communicating among themselves although it did not seem to be passed on to the children of the INTER subjects. A considerable shift from Japanese to English was observed among the INTER subjects but was less evident among subjects in the INTRA group. Levels of oral proficiency in English were not particularly high among the subjects, ranging between 0+ and 3+ on the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) assessment scale. Most of the INTRA group were assessed between level 0+ and 1+ on the scale whereas the majority of INTER subjects scored between levels 2 and 3+. This difference in oral proficiency was due mainly to influences associated with intercultural marriage. An analysis of the subjects' oral English revealed that the INTRA subjects had higher frequencies of error in their English than the INTER subjects. Many phonological errors appeared to be due to interference from Japanese. An analysis of grammatical errors involving noun morphology, verb morphology and article usage, however, suggested several possible causes of error including interference, oversimplification, the learners' false hypotheses, faulty instruction and idiosyncratic variation. The nature and frequency of these errors resulted in pidginlike characteristics being observed in the subjects' English. Lexical errors and communication strategies employed by the subjects were also described.
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    Adapting to the dark : reflections of local culture in recent New Zealand horror cinema : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Media Studies at Massey Universit
    (Massey University, 2011) Ryan, Paolo; Ryan, Paolo
    The use of Hollywood genres to package our films for overseas consumption has been an historic feature of the New Zealand film industry. The horror genre has been an important platform for many local film directors, equipping them with sufficient technical skills to create a „calling card‟ for entry into Hollywood. But in working with the genre locally, these directors have introduced variations that are culturally specific to New Zealand, a process of assimilation known as „indigenisation.‟ This relies upon a shared understanding of ethnic and cultural identity, and in some cases has given rise to a perceptible New Zealand film brand. While government policy may assist to promote certain features in the interest of creating and sustaining a commercially viable „National Cinema,‟ real and sometimes problematic aspects of our contemporary society, such as the increasing influence of Pacific Island culture or the position of Maori in respect of the mainstream may be downplayed or omitted altogether. This thesis examines the extent to which indigenisation has occurred in some recent examples of New Zealand horror films. It considers the theory of National Cinema and the influence of government policy on cinema practice, and examines the image of the nation that has been constructed thus far. It also outlines the theory of genres and how they are interpreted and transformed over time, and identifies the distinguishing characteristics of the horror genre. The analysis of the case studies, which include recent examples of mainstream and Pacific Island-influenced films, addresses the question of how the horror genre is culturally inflected and what images of the nation prevail. It concludes that our films may not even admit alternative local constructs of the nation, and that as we become more inundated in the streams of foreign influence and capital, there is an increasing amount of attention being given to how identity and culture is formed rather than to describing the specific cultural features of a given nation. This is reflected in the rise of generic hybridity and multi-vocalic texts, whose voices may simply express a desire to navigate the cross-currents of global consumer culture.
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    Titiro whakamuri kia marama ai te wao nei : whakapapa epistemologies and Maniapoto Maori cultural identities : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2009) Edwards, Shane
    The work I have presented here pulls together Maori epistemologies as evidenced in the whakapapa knowledge particularly of Ngati Maniapoto to see if and where connection lies with understandings of Maori cultural wellbeing. Whakapapa knowledge is the unbounded collection of theory, observation and experience as seen through Maori eyes. It is intricately connected by whakapapa, a tool for working with and extrapolating understanding and is the common thread that binds hapu, whanau and iwi (O’Regan, 2001). The aim is to investigate contemporary Maori realities with a strong interest in these traditions of wisdom and knowing. The rangahau presented here is of necessity both deconstructive and reconstructive. As a deconstructive project the rangahau seeks to place under the microscope of indigenous gaze the colonial theoretical, ethical, moral and political construction of Maori ways of knowing and being and the ontological orders of western paradigms and non-Maori worldview (Romero-Little, 2006). As a constructive project I am concerned with placing on the record and opening up sites for, but not defining, Maori epistemology as legitimate and ‘tika’ and at the same time putting forward ‘alternate epistemologies’ (Collins, 1991; Lopez, 1998; Smith, 1999; Marsden, 2003) that challenge certified knowledge and critically challenges dominant constructions of the truth as related to knowing. The implications of these explorations of epistemologies for Maori lives, opportunities and experience are also considered. This work argues for the maintenance of Maori cultural identities via whakapapa knowledge using connections to Maori ways of knowing. This includes examination of the effects of coming to terms with, of encountering, coming to terms with and engaging with Maori cultural practices, as well as, processes commonly referred to as ‘culture shock’ (Weaver, 1993) the psychological, emotional and physical responses to the phenomenon of identity reclamation and how these realities can be negotiated. What I found is that Maori knowledge systems are replete with elements that contribute positively to the maintenance of cultural identities and these identities are uniquely and distinctively contextually and culturally relevant. These systems have been and continue to be threatened by the impacts of colonisation and colonial ideologies. The work has found that elders and relevant contexts retain and provide a large volume of knowledge that when engaged with can provide useful insights into living within Maori paradigms that can enhance wellbeing in the present. Maori communities and whanau are under high levels of stress with the pressures of contemporary living and the dis-location from ancestral lands, and the living activities, knowledge sharing opportunities and learning practices they support. This work seeks to offer up solutions via the maintenance, enhancement and advancement of cultural identities as a way for mediating and removing some of the effects of the stresses. The implications are that the continued disconnection of Maori from unique cultural identities informed by whakapapa korero knowledge may serve to weaken important elements and connections to an individual’s and group’s cultural identity, including personal history, stories, land and people. The potential exists for further investigation of how crucial cultural connections that acknowledge contemporary realities and yet support the maintenance of cultural identities with strong and vibrant connections to whakapapa korero knowledge connections might be maintained, enhanced and advanced. Additionally, the work here opens up the space for and advocates for much deeper exploration of distinctive elements of a groups identity through contextually located knowledge in forms such as waiata, purakau, pakiwaitara, whakairo, rongoa, wairua and the many other knowledge forms of tea o Maori to further depths/heights not yet achieved to reclaim (k)new and subjugated knowledge forms. This potential is exciting but there are a range of risks involved (including appropriations of indigenous knowledge) that requires certain minimum standards of knowledge protection such as discerning which knowledge is suitable for public consumption and that which is not. This is most suitably done after receiving guidance from the knowledge holders as to what the appropriate forums for such knowledge might be and analysing risks for abuse, risks of misinterpretation and risks of unintended use that might cause whakama. The enquiry suggested above as being of benefit is of course a deeply personal exploration and ideas of what is appropriate for public consumption and what is not is something that must be explored at the time of enquiry. As in my work here I was asked to include some things and to exclude others as a result of views by the elders that the public consumption of some knowledge they contributed was inappropriate to be shared beyond our korero because it could be perceived in a number of ways, some helpful and some not, for the people concerned, or for different groups of people. The knowledge that has been shared here and that which has not has therefore been discerned.
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    The relationship between Māori cultural identity and health : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Stevenson, Brendan
    While the differences in health between cultures co-existing in the same country have been well researched, there has been insufficient attention paid to the definition of culture used in these studies. Typically the ethnicity of an individual has been determined along biological lines or by the country of origin. However, the culture with which an individual identifies may not be so clear: an individual may identify with a number of cultures, from the social group with whom they socialise, to the religion they follow. Measuring the degree to which an individual identifies with a particular culture (their cultural identity), would allow an assessment of how membership in that culture influences health outcomes. The present study investigated the relationship between the cultural identity (CI) of Māori and their health. The main hypothesis was that a higher CI would be positively correlated with better health. The relationships between demographic factors (e.g. age, gender, & socio-economic status (SES)), CI, and a number of health indicators (self rated health, smoking behaviour, alcohol consumption, & exercise/sporting behaviours) were also examined. The sample used in the present study (767 adult Māori) was a subset of the data collected the Te Hoe Nuku Roa Māori profiles project. The development of a CI measure incorporated seven cultural indicators: Whakapapa (ancestry), Marae Participation, Whanaū associations (extended family), Whenua Tipu (ancestral land), contact with Māori people, Use of te Reo (Māori language), and kai (food preferences). A series of hierarchical linear regressions found that CI was not directly related to health indicators in the present study. There were weak interactions between CI, age, and smoking behaviour; CI, home ownership, and involvement in sport; and age, Crowding and involvement in sport. Additional findings were that more Sporting Involvement/exercise was moderately correlated with improved health, and there was a weak relationship between CI and SES. It was speculated that the lack of significant findings may be due to a difference in the quality of participants’ CI: The CI measure did not distinguish between those who learn their culture and those who live their culture (each group tending to be in differing social and economic positions). Recommendations from the study were: Further validation of the CI measure, and assessment of the distribution of CI over urban/rural areas, SES and age; additional research into the relationship between young Māori smokers and their CI; assessing how the level of Sporting Involvement varies across the social and economic realities of Māori; and the development of appropriate measures utilising the whanaū/household as the unit of analysis.