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    Compassion or Corruption? Temporalities of Care and Nationhood in Papua New Guinean Nursing Education
    (Wiley, 26/03/2022) Andersen B
    Nurse educators in Papua New Guinea (PNG) must prepare students for often demoralizing working conditions. This article analyzes classroom and practical lessons in a PNG Highlands nursing college. A variety of pedagogical practices, including role plays and other simulation technologies, were used to socialize students to imagine patients' relatives while making clinical decisions, and to contemplate their own relatives and ancestors in reflecting on their moral commitments to health care. Such practices generate a mode of medical citizenship shaped by a regime of biocommunicability in which Christianity and education are thought to transform one's capacity to detach from the emotional appeals of kin. These pedagogies link the individual subjectivities of health workers to a persistent, though fragile, vision of the nation in which transgenerational, urban-rural kinship is a synecdoche for nationhood (and its deferral), despite professional counternarratives that cast these kinship ties as a slippery slope toward "corruption." [medical citizenship, temporalities of care, nursing simulation, nationhood, Papua New Guinea].
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    Perceptions of intercultural empathy, peace, and the "other" among Palestinians and Israelis : a qualitative analysis utilising grounded theory and integrated threat theory (ITT) : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Jackson, Kelsea
    International conflict among and within nations is becoming more dire and magnified. Cyclical violence ensues as the victim/oppressor paradigm is perpetuated, thus instigating militant discourse. Cyclical violence becomes an anticipated pattern, while simultaneously appearing unavoidable due to antiquated or otherwise inadequate peace processes, most often overlooking the most vulnerable. To address these concerns, this research project explores the broad interplay of intercultural empathy, perceptions of peace and the “other,” and elements of integrated threat theory. Specifically, this study explores how Israelis conceptualize intercultural empathy in regard to Palestinians and examines how Israelis perceive the possibility of peace within the Palestinian Israeli conflict. “Peace” as a concept is explored in addition to “intercultural empathy,” and how Israelis conceptualize these familiar words. This study also explores what factors or experiences have influenced Palestinian and Israeli individuals’ perception of the “other.” This study adds to our understanding of the Israelis’ perspective of the “other” as the dominant group and influencer within the Palestinian Israeli conflict. Results reported in this dissertation indicate a significant perception of realistic and symbolic threat from Israeli participants toward Palestinians. It was also found participants had a cognitive understanding of empathy and intercultural empathy, though that understanding did not necessarily translate into more productive emotional empathy or position taking. Peace as an outcome was overwhelmingly viewed as impossible by Israeli participants. This dissertation contributes to the field of integrated threat theory from a qualitative approach in the context of intercultural conflict. This paper is a starting point for researchers and those involved in curricula development and intercultural training when engaging conflicting parties in key peacebuilding processes.
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    The effect of day-care on empathy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1977) Davey, Janet
    The study incorporated three areas of concern. Literature and research findings related to day-care focussed on the social-emotional effects of attendance. It was found that fears regarding harmful consequences of mother-child separation and multiple caretakers were not substantiated. Although many findings were equivocal, there was considerable evidence indicating beneficial outcomes of day-care. In particular, prosocial behaviours were found to be improved. An important variable in day-care is interaction with peers. The nature of peer influence on children's social development was, however, largely theoretical. It was concluded that peer experiences should facilitate the loss of eogcentrism and coincident increase in empathy in preschool children. Emphasis was placed on the recent change in viewpoint that the preschool child is not necessarily egocentric but capable of responding empathically. Empathy in children was found to be influenced by socialisation experiences and prosocial behaviours were linked, at least theoretically, to empathy. "Cognitive" empathy was within the capabilities of young children and defined as understanding what another person is feeling. The aim of the study, therefore, was to investigate cognitive empathy of children attending day-care. Borke's (1971) Interpersonal Perception Test was used to measure empathy in sixty day-care children (30 male and 30 female) between three and four-and-a-half years of age. Social and interpersonal skills were assessed by a Social Behaviour Rating Scale and the PPVT served as a measure of verbal intelligence. Factors included in the design were length of stay in day-care (NEW, OLD, XOLD), age (3yr.old, 4yr old), sex and a retest after twelve weeks of day-care attendance. Results were analysed in terms of a 5 x 2 (Treatments x Sex) design with length of stay in day-care and age defining treatment classifications. The results indicated that children who had attended day-care for some time were more empathic than children who had not had this experience. Empathy was found to increase with age but there were no differences between male and female children. The extent to which children were empathic was found to be related to their prosocial behaviours and interpersonal skills. Although increases in empathy over the test-retest interval were slight, NEW children showed a greater development in empathy than OLD children. The results also showed that empathy varied with the emotion being identified and there were differences between item - correctness and response - correctness. The study supported the idea that day-care can be a growth-enriching experience and can promote the development of empathy. It is implied that early interaction with peers is the factor largely responsible for improved social development. Finally it was suggested that child-rearing and formal education have great potential for facilitating prosocial behaviours and empathy by offering socialised activities and experiences. Given the implications of this for behaviour modification, especially aggression and violence, it seems particularly important that direct attention be given to facilitating mature levels of empathy and social development.
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    An evaluation of the effectiveness of an empathy training module for child sex offenders : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Smith, Tracy Vannessa
    The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an empathy training module for treatment of child sexual offenders incarcerated at a New Zealand Special Treatment Unit. Twenty-eight participants volunteered for the study which involved three time conditions; pre-intervention, post-intervention and three-month follow-up. Three measures were used to assess generalised empathy and victim-specific empathy in this sample. No significant results were found, although preliminary data did suggest that this sample may differ from previous studies on the victim-specific measure. Namely, contrary to previous research the sample demonstrated the greatest empathy deficit for the child accident victim, rather than their own victims. The current study had a number of limitations, including methodological errors that make the generalisation of results unfeasible.
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    Paradox of perception : the role of the second chair second violin in a symphony orchestra : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Management at Massey University, Manawatu campus, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2010) Gilling, David Francis
    The objective of this research thesis is to add to our understanding of work practices in the symphony orchestra and, in particular, to explore the functioning of the hierarchy which exists among the musicians of the orchestra (Koivunen, 2003; Marotto, Roos & Victor, 2007) As the literature regarding the orchestral organization is concerned primarily with relations between conductors and orchestras and, further, with the offstage implications of these interactions (Koivunen, 2003), I have focused instead on the onstage relationships among musicians that occur in the course of rehearsal, concert, and recording activity. In order to investigate these relations, I have undertaken a critical and reflexive study of the role of sub-principal (second chair) second violin in a full-time, fully professional symphony orchestra. In so doing I sought to interrogate my own experience through an autoethnographic methodology which is grounded in the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty (2002) and draws on the sensemaking ideas of Weick (1995, 2001). The picture that emerged from this research was one of an embodied musician engaging in empathetic interaction with colleagues; this interaction is, I argue, based on sensemaking activity which occurs in a kinaesthetic loop that, while underpinned by creative empathy among musicians, draws on and is generated by auditory, visual and physical information virtually simultaneously. Which of these elements takes precedence was found in this study to be linked to the nature of the activity being undertaken.
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    Understanding the nature and function of empathy in synchronous multimedia conferencing : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Duncan, Wayne Alan
    With the advent of the internet, teachers and learners are reshaping how interaction in distance education occurs. These changes are being further stimulated through the integration of relatively new online collaboration tools such as synchronous multimedia conferencing (SMC). A central and, as yet, not fully explored component of social interaction within this context is the ability to empathise, or interpret the internal frame of another. The importance of the ability to empathise is that it is an essential relational mechanism for effective social interaction and learning. The intent of this research was, therefore, to promote understanding of the nature and function of empathy in synchronous multimedia conferencing (SMC). The exploratory research undertaken was embedded within a hermeneutic perspective and guided by the hermeneutic lens of Gadamer (1975, 2001). It explored conferencing participants' heuristic understandings of how they experienced empathy within SMC. Utilising a qualitative case study methodology, participants were engaged within an iterative dialogical research strategy that enabled the development of understandings over time. The purposeful selection of two case studies consisting of two separate distance education classes, were the foci of the investigation. Data were collected from repeated one on one and focus group interviews spread over a six-month period. The strategy enabled participants to reengage with their own and others' understandings as these developed within a hermeneutic circle approach. The findings indicated that the participants experienced empathy within SMC and that the salience of those experiences appeared to be related to a number of factors, including respondents' degree of engagement and the richness of their multimedia conferencing experiences. A wide range of findings related to how participants experienced empathy was presented, representing a range of empathic experiences. The coding of emergent themes that led to the stimulation of participants' own models of empathy suggested a multifaceted relationship may exist between the participant, the physical environment, and the social environment, bound together through empathic interaction. Several implications were identified from the research and the results were discussed in light of previous research. Future research directions were also discussed along with the contributions to knowledge the research has made.
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    Pictures of the body : painting as praxis : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD, Fine Arts, Massey University, Wellington
    (Massey University, 2011) Melser, Paul; Melser, Paul
    This thesis uses the painting / photography nexus to investigate painting’s viability as a decisive means of activating reflexivity and interpretation. The artwork tests painting’s agency by presenting simplified abstracted paintings which critique selected news media images documenting conflict between the citizenry and institutional authorities. The paintings thwart the resort to the normalised (non)-understanding engendered by the ubiquity and information excess of the news photograph. They invite the viewer instead to fill out and resolve the incomplete figuration through ‘experiencing’ the narratives pictured. In this way the audience can interpret and expand on the minimal information contained within the paintings by extrapolating from their own experience. This reduces the need to employ the restrictive, hidden and historically entrenched discourses that are commonly used to read both photography and painting. The narrative content and simplified figuration of the artwork assists in creating a relationship with the viewer that enables an exchange of experience comparable to that achieved through dialogue. The simple presentation and understatement of the paintings aims to forge a link with the viewer that implies a joint struggle to understand. This commonality is augmented by the paintings’ muted, unassertive authorial ‘performance’ and through the invitation to engage in the (joint) work of interpretation. The images have been chosen on the basis of their capacity to promote empathy and imaginative experience. To emphasise the ‘joint witness’ of the artist and viewer the paintings are of a size, and installed in a manner that maximises their correspondence with the body of the viewer.
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    You can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals : finding the links between animal cruelty, empathy and aggression in a New Zealand high-school sample : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Connell, Rochelle Maria; Connell, Rochelle Maria
    The conclusions emerging from recent research in the United States is that cruelty to animals, especially by children and adolescents, is a form of rehearsal for human-directed aggression (Ascione, 1998a, 1998b, 2005; Feldmann, 1997; Quinn, 2000). The role of empathy in the animal cruelty and aggression link has not been as well explored, but there is some evidence that it is a relevant construct (Zdradzinski, 2010). The present study used the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form (BPAQ-SF), the Empathy Quotient Eight (EQ-8) and a modified version of the Youth Assessment for Animal Abuse (YAAA) to investigate the relationship between animal cruelty, aggression and empathy in 133 New Zealand secondary school students aged between 16 and 19 years (M age = 16.8). There was a weak positive relationship between animal cruelty and aggression in the total sample (r = .185, p = .05) and a slightly higher weak positive correlation between the physical aggression scale from the BPAQ-SF and animal cruelty (r = .187, p = .05). A regression analysis showed aggression and gender accounted for 10.7% of the variance for animal cruelty. When the genders were broken down, the males of the sample had a weak positive relationship between animal cruelty and verbal aggression (r = .282, p = .05). In this cohort empathy was not related to animal cruelty but did have a moderate negative relationship with verbal aggression in the males of the sample (r = -.304, p = .05). In summary, the present research findings support the findings from overseas suggesting, particularly in a male sample, there is a relationship between animal cruelty and aggression. However, contrary to previous research empathy was not related to animal cruelty in this sample.