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    Gender, security, and development : a Bougainville case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North
    (Massey University, 2013) Cuddy, Sharon
    Research on contemporary alignments of development and security agendas has paid limited attention to how gender relations, roles and issues of equality are constructed and experienced within post-conflict contexts. While practices like gender mainstreaming have been committed to in principle and in policy by organisations and countries heavily involved in development and security interventions, more research is required into actual practices and outcomes. This thesis utilises a case study, the Bougainville Community Policing Project, to examine the efficacy of gender approaches practiced within a merged securitydevelopment intervention. The research highlights how increased participation of women within such interventions, while important for meeting practical gender needs, is not in itself enough to enable more strategic gender needs to be met. In seeking to understand more fully the gendered impacts of such interventions on communities the prioritising of particular development issues over others, including gender equality, becomes visible.
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    Local government accountability in Bougainville : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Sasa, Carol Lida
    The arguments for decentralisation are broadly about economic efficiency and enhancing democratic practices, such as participation and accountability. Decentralisation reforms in most developing countries are in line with the political arguments for making local governments more responsive to the people they serve, by enhancing greater citizen participation and local government accountability. The lack of accountability is often singled out as one of the main factors contributing to the ineffectiveness of many local governments. Therefore, by using a case study of two COEs in Bougainville (an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea), this thesis investigates what formal accountability mechanisms exist and how these mechanisms unfold in practice, particularly those between the COEs and their constituents. The findings of this research have identified the institutional relationships that the COEs have and - how accountability occurs - within these relationships. The conclusions of this research lean towards the suggestion that the legal requirements of accountability are the likely reason for the limitations to downwards accountability: and yet constituents are finding ways in which to hold their COEs to account.
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    The applicability of 'voice of the customer' tools to an indigenous organisation in a developing country : a thesis submitted to Massey University in partial fulfilment for the degree of Masters in Philosophy (Quality Systems), Massey University of Manawatu, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Lewis, Janice Ann
    The value and applicability of western management theories and practices to the developing world is rarely discussed within the current rush to globalise the world economies, capture untapped wealth and seek to establish businesses within indigenous societies. This is especially relevant to the use of Voice of the Customer (VOC) methods and tools when applied to indigenous peoples and service organisations, where customer information is used to design or improve services. There has been limited concentration and much debate as to whether VOC tools are as effective as anticipated, and can solve the unique problems that appear when used in unfamiliar diverse cultures in developing countries. A risk when using a particular method or management technique is the desire and expectation that it will be transferable for use in similar businesses in other countries. Service quality is reliant on what the customer feels and often cannot be measured easily. This can be compounded in a developing nation scenario, by the fact that methods are usually developed, implemented, interpreted and validated through a western ‘lens’. Armstrong and Pont et al (2011, page 6 -7) describe these issues succinctly when they state… ‘a survey of the leading academic journals suggest that well over 90% of the articles published are concerned with establishing basic causality behind certain phenomena. Very few studies investigate whether a certain method used by management is effective or not …. as practitioners we are more interested in what works than the intricacies of causality’. This research specifically explored the use of VOC tools in the Bougainville Village Court (VC) to identify service elements customers considered important to the functioning of the VC in their village communities. Tools that were used included quantitative measurement tools - a combined Garvin–SERVQUAL tool, the RATER model, and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) principles, and the more qualitative New Zealand Business Excellence Criteria (NZBEC). The research demonstrated that the quantitative VOC methods used did not fully fit, or account for some service elements important to the customer in this particular context, where societal trust and continuous contact are important service elements. The methods used were thus, unable to completely capture the full humanistic elements and contributing causal factors. In this research study cultural context in the form of history, environment, tradition, community relationships and structures, played a vital role in determining what the customer considered were important service elements. It was found that these elements were more easily captured through use of the more qualitative NZBEC as it enabled collection of more diverse perspectives through its open question structure. Generic VOC ‘western developed’ quantitative tools did gather VOC information. However, they were only effective after adaptation to each VC location and after cultural input. Cultural analysis from indigenous people to interpret the data is recommended as a prerequisite and standard part of VOC methodology in a developing country scenario. This research suggests assessment and analysis based solely on ‘western’ VOC methods and statistics will not capture the VOC fully and could lead to misinterpretation or fail to acknowledge the real voice of the customer and the causal and contextual factors contributing to customer responses.