Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Sweden

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    'But we're just the same humans as you' : refugees negotiating exclusions, belonging and language in Sweden and New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-01-28) Svensson, Hanna Lena Katrin
    Refugee settlement is a complex process requiring the navigation of new linguistic and social spaces and the renegotiation of belonging and identity. The process can also be complicated by the contested nature of national belonging and the politicisation of social cohesion, as well as by forms of everyday exclusion. Drawing on a Bakhtinian dialogical framework, this study used qualitative data from interviews with language teachers, settlement support workers and refugee-background residents in New Zealand and Sweden to investigate dimensions of belonging, social cohesion, and language in relation to refugee settlement. The study sought to discover how belonging and social cohesion are perceived and experienced by refugee-background residents in these contexts, how they are promoted by the two settlement nations, and how they are operationalised in political and public discourse to enforce boundaries and construct national and refugee identities. Of particular interest was the intersection of public discourse and lived experience, and the tensions and contestations that may arise in these spaces. Language learning and use were seen as crucial aspects of belonging and social cohesion and were investigated both in terms of linguistic inequalities in the settlement location and in terms of the unique language learning journeys of adult learners. The findings suggest that there are significant gaps in the understanding of refugee experiences among policy makers and that discursive representations of refugees, particularly in terms of social cohesion and belonging, often impact negatively on the settlement process. The politicisation of belonging and the appropriation of social cohesion discourses as tools for differentiation, and potentially exclusion, can have negative impacts on individuals’ rights and settlement prospects while reductive representations of refugees lead to unrealistic expectations in terms of language acquisition and labour market participation and to restrictive policies that hinder the settlement process. The thesis concludes by arguing that in order to strengthen social cohesion and belonging, it is imperative that refugees are included as dialogical partners, practically and ideologically. It identifies theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the research and raises further questions in relation to gender, language acquisition, incentivisation and dialogical practice in the context of refugee settlement.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Fertility and survival of Swedish Red and White × Holstein crossbred cows and purebred Holstein cows
    (y Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association, 2023-04) Pipino DF; Piccardi M; Lopez-Villalobos N; Hickson RE; Vázquez MI
    Swedish Red and White × Holstein (S×H) cows were compared with pure Holstein (HOL) cows for fertility and survival traits in 2 commercial dairy farms in central-southern Córdoba province, Argentina, over 6 years (2008-2013). The following traits were evaluated: first service conception rate (FSCR), overall conception rate (CR), number of services per conception (SC), days open (DO), mortality rate, culling rate, survival to subsequent calvings, and length of productive life (LPL). The data set consisted of 506 lactations from 240 S×H crossbred cows and 1,331 lactations from 576 HOL cows. The FSCR and CR were analyzed using logistic regression, DO and LPL were analyzed using a Cox's proportional hazards regression model, and differences of proportions were calculated for mortality rate, culling rate, and survival to subsequent calvings. The S×H cows were superior to HOL cows in overall lactations for all the fertility traits (+10.5% FSCR, +7.7% CR, -0.5 SC, and 35 fewer DO). During the first lactation, S×H cows were superior to HOL cows for all fertility traits (+12.8% FSCR, +8.0% CR, -0.4 SC, and 34 fewer DO). In the second lactation, S×H cows exhibited lower SC (-0.5) and 21 fewer DO than HOL cows. In the third or greater lactations, S×H cows showed higher FSCR (+11.0%) and CR (+12.2%), lower SC (-0.8), and 44 fewer DO than pure HOL cows. In addition, S×H cows had a lower mortality rate (-4.7%) and a lower culling rate (-13.7%) than HOL cows. Due to the higher fertility and lower mortality and culling rates, the S×H cows had higher survival to the second (+9.2%), third (+16.9%), and fourth (+18.7%) calvings than HOL cows. Because of these results, S×H cows had longer LPL (+10.3 mo) than HOL cows. These results indicate that S×H cows had higher fertility and survival than HOL cows on commercial dairy farms in Argentina.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Access to tertiary education institutions in six nations, New Zealand, Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Japan : a comparative study of funding : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1997) Benge, Darryl Clinton
    This project is an examination of international experience, to determine what tertiary funding, and student aid policies, New Zealand should employ to enhance participation of traditionally under-represented groups. It consist of a comparative policy analysis of five other nations with comparable tertiary institutions and equality of access objectives: Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan. Through analysing the experiences of these countries and examining relevant research, it was confirmed that significant differences exist between the tertiary participation patterns of privileged groups of people and the participation patterns of lower socio-economic groups, ethnic minorities and women. Lower socio-economic groups and ethnic minorities are internationally under-represented in the tertiary education populace. In most countries studied women have numerical parity with their male cohorts, however women are proportionately over-represented in part-time and extramural studies. Of those disadvantaged students that do acccss tertiary education, many are concentrated in courses with lenient entry pre-requisites and mediocre anticipated financial returns. The thesis concludes that the participation rates of these historically disadvantaged groups will not improve unless: (i) the government adopts the primary role in funding tertiary education; (ii) tuition fees are abolished, or at least made moderate and uniform; and (iii) the student aid is enhanced, particularly the student maintenance grant.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    To what degree do the in-work tax credit policies introduced in New Zealand (2006) and Sweden (2007) contribute to the wellbeing of sole mothers? : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Davidson, Terri-Louise
    Social policy intervention greatly influences the level of wellbeing achieved by different population groups and reflects social, political and historical discourse, and power constructs within society. As a population group, sole mother households consistently experience higher poverty rates than other population groups across western welfare states. By undertaking a critical social policy analysis and comparative analysis of the New Zealand (2006) and Sweden (2007) in-work tax credit policies, this research demonstrates that the inequalities experienced by sole mothers were perpetuated and reinforced by social policy mechanisms that were reflective of each country’s ideological foundations. The gendered nature of the inequalities also reflected the socialist feminist view that interrelated power constructs in the form of public patriarchy and capitalism influence the wellbeing of sole mothers across all welfare states. Thus, while capitalism continues to exploit women as gender-neutral workers, public patriarchy continues to further exploit women through male-dominant power constructs.