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Item Knowing, belonging & becoming-with the Ōruawharo : an ethnography of a river : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Albany Campus, Aotearoa, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025-11-17) Joensen, ClareThis thesis is situated in the northwest of Te Ika-a-Māui, the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand along the Ōruawharo river, a salty tidal tributary of the Kaipara Harbour. For over a hundred and fifty years, the Ōruawharo and surrounding district have been storied by a dominant ‘settler’ narrative which maps onto place, as names, text, histories, monuments and civic apparatus. However, this is not the only story of the Ōruawharo. There are multiple stories, multiple ways of knowing the river; knowings which produce different belongings. As such belonging to a place is always a process of becoming, and this becoming is produced relationally, as a series of “withs”, with both humans and non-humans. These becoming-withs produce embodied ways of knowing which in turn, remake place when given the opportunity to be known by others. This thesis aims to bring to light the unknown, hidden and subordinated Ōruawharo knowledges in order to reveal multiplicities and develop new ways of thinking about place. This is Pākehā research done inbetween Māori and Pākehā worlds in a Māori-Pākehā place; a form of research which comes with its own set of troubles. As it is a Pākehā imperative to decolonise (Shaw 2021b), I stay with the trouble (Haraway 2016), and through a level of discomfort, produce small decolonising acts in written text, public speaking roles and through the curation of an exhibit. Decolonising actions, spurred on by this thesis, have then led to others as people come to know more, including that which cannot be unknown. Drawing on knowledges generated with boats (boat ethnography), people (interviews and casual conversations), texts (archives, books, texts, journals, letters and documents), the curation of an exhibit and a wide range of encounters in my community, I debunk knowing place as a singularity and demonstrate the value of knowing place differently through these methods. Ultimately, this ethnography of a river offers a multiplicity of knowings-with and in doing so, shifts human-centric and settler-centric narratives with tendencies to dominate. With dynamism, knowing, becoming and belonging are shown as relational, embodied, in amongst the withs, ever in motion, shaping lives and reshaping place, place as seen, imagined, felt, understood, experienced and remade.Item Resistance, healing and empowerment through autobiographical therapeutic performance–– 愛，媽媽 (Love, Mum) : a solo matrilineal memoir and autoethnographic inquiry on Chinese womanhood and ‘The good woman’ ideal : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Writing at Massey University, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 30 July 2027.(Massey University, 2024) Lam, Cynthia Hiu YingMy research is an autoethnographic inquiry that employs creative and critical methodologies to examine the question: How does the process of writing and performing one’s life experiences and trauma act as a form of resistance to the dominant ‘good woman’ narrative, leading to personal healing, empowerment and transformation? Through the creation of my one-woman show, 愛，媽媽 (Love, Mum), a matrilineal memoir about three generations of Chinese women, I investigate how the creative process involving the writing, rehearsing and performance of my play can become a form of resistance and counter-storying against the dominant ‘good woman’ narrative, leading to personal healing and empowerment. I begin by discussing the historical context of the virtuous Chinese woman, and present research by scholars who demonstrate that depression in women contains a gendered lens, resulting from the socio-cultural pressures of living up to the ‘good woman’ ideal. My analysis uses the methodological framework of autobiographical/autoethnographic therapeutic performance (ATP). This is a method that focuses on the working through of personal traumatic material through writing and performance. My research utilises a transdisciplinary praxis, combining both arts-based and psychoanalytic theories and practice related to trauma recovery and the healing processes of ATP. My investigation is autoethnographic and deeply personal as my own life experience and creative process is used to answer my research question, as well as shining a light on the socio-cultural structures we live in. Employing a mixture of creative practice, personal reflection, theoretical examination, and a close reading of my play script and performance, I demonstrate how the creative process I went through has led to a form of personal healing and transformation, with the potential to impact and engage with the wider community.Item Showers, Henry Arthur (Harry)(Australian National University Press, 2021-03-09) Moremon J; Nolan, M; Allbrook, MAustralian Dictionary of Biography entry for Henry (Harry) Showers (1899-1991), naval officer.Item Rhoades, Rodney(Australian National University Press, 2021-03-09) Moremon J; Nolan, M; Allbrook, MAustralian Dictionary of Biography entry for Rodney Rhoades (1909-1991), naval officer and charity manager.Item Henderson, James Robert (Bob)(Australian National University Press, 2021-03-09) Moremon J; Nolan, M; Allbrook, MAustralian Dictionary of Biography entry for James (Bob) Henderson (1916-1991), air force officer and business executive.Item Wright, Harold John (Harry)(Australian National University Press, 2021-03-09) Moremon J; Nolan, M; Allbrook, MAustralian Dictionary of Biography entry for Harold (Harry) Wright (1919-1991), survey draughtsman, air force officer, political activist.Item James Cowan : the significance of his journalism : a thesis presented in three volumes in fulfilment of the requirement for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Wood, GregoryThis thesis argues that to understand Cowan the historian, his interest in history and his way of writing history, one must return to the roots of his writing – his journalism. Cowan’s adroit penmanship meant that his history writing existed in close parallel to his journalism. His writing style varied little between the two areas, which meant that he reached a wide group of readers regardless of their reading level or tastes. His favourite topics included travel writing and recent history, that is, history in his lifetime. For a better understanding of how and why he wrote, some key aspects of his life and career have been selected for study. These aspects include his childhood, his early journalism as a reporter for the Auckland Star, and his later journalism for Railways Magazine. Finally, his legacy is considered from the viewpoint of his colleagues and contemporaries. Cowan the journalist was the making of Cowan the historian, and to better understand the strengths of his histories one must appreciate his journalistic background. Past and present cannot be easily separated, and his historical work becomes more clearly articulated in the present with the discovery of previously unknown material from the nineteenth century and representing a quarter of his journalism output. That material has can now be appreciated for what it is – as the wellspring of his writing, the original source of his histories.Item From colonial past to New Zealand classroom : the biographical narrative of Will Potter, commercial secondary school teacher (1958-1976) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2018) Burne, Jacqueline MoniqueThis thesis tells the teaching story of one post-primary Commerce teacher, Will Potter—my father. Will taught in five New Zealand post-primary schools from 1958 until his retirement in 1976. This case study of Will looks at what makes his story unique: he was an immigrant of Dutch descent, whose first language was not English and who came to teaching without qualifications at age 51, and went on to write Commerce textbooks. He also began teaching at a significant time in New Zealand post-primary education—the 1950s, with rising school rolls and lack of teachers and facilities. This qualitative study of Will involved document analysis of his memoir, letters, and papers, a focus group discussion with Will’s three other children, and semi-structured interviews with people who taught with or were taught by Will. Four research questions guided the study, and sociocultural–historical theory was used as a framework to reveal the complexity of his personal, interpersonal, and wider contextual teaching story. Two major backdrop influences are revealed about Will’s life: his colonial background in what was the Netherlands East Indies (NEI; now Indonesia) and his internment in Japanese concentration camps during World War II (WWII). Reasons are provided for his decision to go teaching, and his pedagogical approaches are described. Of particular note is his storytelling, mainly of his internment experiences. He wrote eleven Commerce textbooks that were used in New Zealand post-primary and tertiary settings, as well as overseas. This story will add to the store of New Zealand teacher stories as well as contribute to the social history of the Dutch who were forced to leave the NEI post WWII.Item Storying meaning in hospice patient biographies : a thesis submitted to Massey University of Palmerston North in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts and Psychology(Massey University, 1998) Hansen, SusanThe importance of meaning in life has been emphasised in the writings of many existentialists. Furthermore, serious repercussions have been associated with loss of meaning. Postulated life-enhancing qualities of discovering meaning in life make this an especially critical issue for the dying. A sense of meaning in late-stage disease is an important focus for therapeutic exchange. A notable method which has been shown to facilitate this is the production of a life story (Lewis. 1989). Narrative is a natural instrument which facilitates expression of personal meaning. Engaging in storying life clarifies meaning of experience by affording closure (Lashley, 1993). The present study employed narrative inquiry, a subset of qualitative research designs, to examine hospice patient biographies (N=7) to determine how the process of constructing a biographical account facing death contributes to meaning formation. It has been argued that approaching death disrupts one's personal narrative resulting in loss of meaning. This activity is said to compel reconstruction of one's story in order to restore meaning in life. Lichter. Mooney and Boyd (1993) argued that recounting experiences enables individuals to resolve unfinished business, an important element for promoting closure, which engenders meaning. Two methods of analysis were adopted: analysis of narrative and storying meaning. Analysis of narrative was based on Polkinghorne's (1995) methods of narrative configuration. Storying meaning was carried out as a means of making sense and showing the significance of thoughts and actions in the context of an unfolding plot. With analysis of narrative a variety of inquiries were undertaken. This included examining the biographies for narrative typologies. Given the importance of goals in meaning formation, we focused on the plot structure before and after illness to establish the influence this experience had upon goal direction. Narrative devices which contribute to meaning formation were also explored. This included: roles, epiphany, closure, and metaphor. These features were examined for patterns, themes, and regularities across biographies. Considering the detrimental impact death anxiety has upon meaning construction, inquiry also focuscd on this concept and its association with selected narrative devices. With storying meaning, knowledge about a particular situation is produced. In this study we concentrated on how meaning is constructed through storying a life facing death. This encompassed searching for processes of meaning-making within the biographies. Analysis of narrative revealed goal-focused progressive narratives. Storying lives in this coherent fashion enabled meaning to be constructed. Narrative devices assisted in production of a coherent stoty which promoted closure to storied life Adoption of these devices also positively reframcd the narrator's viewpoint toward this experience, which enabled individuals to make sense of events and happenings in the story. Surprisingly, death anxiety assumed a peripheral concern; it did not feature as a critical issue in meaning construction within these accounts. Storying meaning revealed processes of meaning-making in these stoned accounts. Unfolding of these stories revealed meaningful lives interrupted by adversity, which were then overcome. Prior to the disruption these accounts were replete with sources of personal meaning. Disruption ensued with evidence of loss of meaning. Restoring meaning involved reconstructing one's personal narrative. Analysis revealed evidence of processes of meaning- making within these stories. Methods of meaning formation included: making sense of illness, changing the life scheme, changing one's perception of the event, and methods of self- transcendence. Similar processes have been established in other studies examining meaning construction. These processes were found to promote closure in storied accounts, an important element which facilitates meaning. This finding supports Lichter and associates' (1993) argument regarding the value of narrative, particularly for those facing death where meaning in life has been lost. Results indicated individuals construct meaning by reconstructing personal narratives in order to make sense of these experiences and integrate these into their storied lives. As Williams (1984) argued it is in this activity of reconstructing one's personal life narrative that illness and its consequences arc ascribcd meaning in the context of one's life. The value of narrative for those approaching death and those experiencing serious loss is emphasised.Item Language, ideology, and identity : referencing Maori in biographical collections : in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Massey University(Massey University, 1997) White, TomThis study will examine how Maori are textually represented in the construction of New Zealand. It will do this by comparing texts of collected biography, dating from the late nineteenth-century until the present. Obviously this use of Maori is not unique to reference biography, but this thesis will largely focus on the texts 1 "Text" in this study will take on a wider meaning than "book". Following Derrida, a text will be seen as going beyond the apparent borders of single entities to the other writings that inform the production of meaning in single writings. See, Derrida, Jacques, 'Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences', Writing and Difference, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978. at hand not the wider cultural practices that may lie behind them. The focus on the "text" at expense of "context" reflects the underlying belief that the making of the Maori culture has largely been a textual act. 2 This approach toward cultural invention can be broadly categorised as "constructivist". See, Tilley, Virgina, 'The Terms of the Debate: Untangling Language About Ethnicity and Ethnic Movements', Ethnic and Racial Studies, 20:3(1997), pp.497-522. Texts do not reflect wider political or academic procedures, they construct them. This thesis will look at this phenomenon in the specific location of the reference biography genre. The texts chosen to form the basis of this study, may appear an arbitrarily selected group with very little that would encourage a natural comparative study. However, as the study progresses the affinities these works have in their modes of textual production will be illustrated. At this point it will be enough to state that these texts all collect together multiple biographies, in the broadest sense of the word, under a national title. Most are concerned with constructing a Maori biographical object in this textual site. [From Introduction]
