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    On the battlefield : exploring gendered experiences of being Infantry in the New Zealand Army : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024-09-25) Brosnan, Amy
    Prompted by the question ‘why aren’t there more women in combat trades?’, this research reaches beyond this to ask about the broader gendered context of the Infantry. Bringing in the experiences of both men and women, this thesis contributes a more nuanced understanding of the gendered issues at play by identifying what factors enable or inhibit success. As such, this thesis seeks to address a gap in knowledge that currently exists with respect to the experiences of men and women working together within a hypermasculine gender integrated combat-focused unit. It does so through the conduct of a qualitative study of soldiers enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR) of the New Zealand Army (NZ Army). As this thesis will reveal, the production of ‘war-fighters’ is not an accidental or inevitable process. Infantry soldiers are socialised into certain ways of thinking and doing, and it is the performance of institutionalised habits, traditions and behaviours that makes an individual Infantry. The production of a war fighter is, therefore, a purposeful process of creating a particular type of Infantry soldier that is deemed to be most effective on the battlefield. What also becomes apparent in the course of this research, however, is that ‘success’ within Infantry is a complex concept; one which is underpinned by a specific gender performance, and which requires negotiation of a number of factors that extend beyond the professional realms of the ‘actual job’. Notwithstanding the need to produce ‘war-fighters’ this thesis argues that the way in which Infantry soldiers are produced within the NZ Army perpetuates a very specific masculine gendered ideology within the RNZIR. This ideology is based on both assumptions and understandings (and also misunderstandings) of gender, coupled with a battlefield narrative that inhibits the possibility of contesting the ‘status quo’. This thesis will illustrate that while some of the participants thrive within this context, others do not. Indeed, the gendered ideology which supports ‘the way things are done around here’ inhibits the participation (and retention) of many men and women, including men and women who exhibit the same qualities and attributes that are claimed to be necessary for Infantry success on the modern, or future, battlefield.
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    Managing presence and absence : experiences of partners of New Zealand soldiers deployed to Iraq : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Guesgen, Maike
    Deploying overseas for New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel is seen as a career-defining opportunity, one that puts into action the training and skills acquired by the soldier. However, it is also important to understand who is left at home during a deployment, and what their experiences are of life without their family member. This thesis focuses on the experiences of seven women who had a partner deploy to Iraq as part of the Building Partner Capacity mission. What I found was that my participants talked about managing a presence-absence dynamic brought out as a result of the deployment. By this I mean the state of either occupying, or being absent from, a space in a particular form. During the three phases of deployment, soldiers were present and absent in different forms: physically, emotionally, and psychologically. The way in which partners managed this presence-absence dynamic was through resilience building. These women needed to become resilient to this presence-absence change, during the three phases of deployment: pre-deployment, during deployment, and post-deployment. This thesis explores how resilience was built through the concept of social capital, the social connections and networks between people. Social capital allowed my participants to maintain positive mental health, and support themselves and their families during the deployment. Social capital, coupled with the NZDF welfare support services helped with resilience building. Becoming resilient, and developing resilience in different forms, through the NZDF and through their own strategies, allowed my participants to not only manage their soldier’s deployment, but to thrive.
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    The effects of organisational decision making on supply chain execution : a case study of the NZDF light armoured vehicles supply chain : submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Supply Chain Management thesis, Massey University / New Zealand Defence Force
    (Massey University, 2018) Alexander, Sheree
    The purpose of this research is to examine how organisational management models, outside of traditional corporate supply chains, drive supply chain success. Corporate supply chains have applied supply chain improvement theories and practices, which have resulted in supply chain success and, ultimately, organisational success. Supply chains for military industries and non-commercial industries are not sufficiently unique to be able to discount the advances that have occurred in corporate supply chain management (SCM) concepts. This lack of uniqueness has seen the military industry commence implementing supply chain improvement theories and practices to its supply chains. Limited research has been conducted into the rationale for non-commercial industries delaying the implementation of advances in SCM concepts or, when they have been implement, why they have not had the desired level of success. Research in the field of organisational management and its influence on supply chains may provide insight into how advances in SCM concepts can be successfully transferred from commercial organisations to other industries. The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) provides a non-commercial context with sufficient complexity regarding its drivers for implementing changes that are likely to result in observable performance trade-offs with respects to SCM and organisational management models. This research will examine existing and previous supply chain and organisational management scenarios to determine the level of success achieved. It will also identify strengths and weaknesses with the existing models and propose an alternative organisational management model.
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    The impact of corporate political connections and political instability on audit fees and earnings quality in Pakistan : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accountancy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Ahmad, Fawad
    This study investigates the impact of corporate political connections on audit fees and earnings quality. Prior literature reports that politically connected companies pay higher audit fees and have poor earnings quality. The key motivation of this study hinges on the argument that in some institutional settings, there can be multiple power sources with dissimilar degrees of resource allocation and decision making abilities. This will affect the costs and benefits accrued to politically connected companies. For example, Pakistan has two visibly distinct power sources, political institutions, and the military. Political institutions are fragile and politicians are prone to public, media, and judicial scrutiny. The military has emerged as a key power player enabling them to command the process of resource allocation. Based on this visible distinction of the power streams, this study segregates politically connected companies in Pakistan into two groups, companies connected to the political elites, termed as civil connected companies and military connected companies. This study also examines the impact of political instability on audit fees and earnings quality. Prior literature examining the impact of political instability reports that political instability results in higher business risk and poor economic performance. Prior auditing literature reports that auditors charge a price premium from high risk clients. Prior earnings quality literature reports that poor economic performance results in poor earnings quality. By combining these streams of literature, this study investigates the auditing and earnings quality implications of political instability. Essay 1 of this study investigates the political determinants of audit fees in the context of Pakistan. The results indicate that civil connected companies pay significantly higher audit fees while military connected companies pay significantly lower audit fees relative to non-connected companies. The findings for political instability indicate that political instability has a positive association with audit fees. Nonetheless, this positive association is weaker for military connected companies relative to non-connected companies. Results for the interaction effect for civil connected companies are not significant. Essay 2 of this study investigates the political determinants of earnings quality in Pakistan. Earnings quality is measured by the level of absolute magnitude of discretionary accruals and earnings persistence. The results indicate that civil connected companies report a significantly higher level of absolute magnitude of discretionary accruals indicating poor earnings quality, while the earnings persistence results are not significant for civil connected companies. The discretionary accruals results for military connected companies are not significant. Nevertheless, military connected companies have more persistent earnings indicating better earnings quality. Essay 2 also examines the impact of political instability on earnings quality. Results indicate a significant negative association between political instability and the level of absolute magnitude of discretionary accruals; and between political instability and earnings persistence. The interaction effects show that the negative association between political instability and the level of absolute magnitude of discretionary accruals is stronger for civil connected companies and not significant for military connected companies. The negative association between political instability and earnings persistence is weaker for military connected companies and not significant for civil connected companies. This study adds to the literature that aims to provide a deeper understanding of the relation between political connections, political institutions, and its auditing and earnings quality outcomes. The study adds to the existing political connections literature by identifying the military as a source of significant power. It also adds to the auditing and financial reporting literature by identifying political instability as a variable which significantly affects the audit fees and earnings quality.
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    The prosecution of multi-theatre warfare : an analysis of the German military leadership's attempt to direct war in simultaneous theatres : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) Betts, Rowan
    On 1 September 1939 Adolf Hitler convened a session of the Reichstag to announce war with Poland. Dressed in a grey field tunic, he declared that Polish aggression would be suppressed, and that he would wear the tunic until "victory is ours, or, I shall not live to see the day!"1 Germany did not win the war, and Hitler did not live to see the day of its defeat. The established record of the Second World War adequately portrays what happened, and the chronology is ingrained. Nevertheless, aspects of the war have been neglected, especially in relation to command issues within the German armed forces. Because of the prominence of Hitler in all accounts, the actions of those below him have traditionally been marginalised. The purpose of this thesis is to address this 'gap' in history by evaluating the overall German military leadership's attempt to direct war in simultaneous theatres. Using primary sources such as war diaries, memoirs, and various accounts of Führer conferences, this study will analyse how the unique German command structure eventually contributed heavily to Germany's defeat. While many authors hold Hitler solely responsible for defeat, and thus overlook the role of others, my work is primarily concerned with analysing the German High Command structure and its attempt to direct war on multiple fronts at the same time. Responsibility for eventual German defeat cannot be laid at Hitler's feet alone because while he maintained sole executive powers, he remained open to the suggestions of those in his inner circle. In the end, those figures, who will be discussed in this study, failed Germany because they were unable to present a united front against Hitler when the situation became critical for the armed forces after 1941.