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Subject: search.filters.subject.COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020

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    Members’ perceptions of cultural inclusivity in organisational communication : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa: Massey University
    (Massey University, 2023) Green, Malcolm
    This study examines cultural inclusivity as a phenomenon in organisational communication. Its significant, original contribution to knowledge is identifying a construct of cultural inclusivity distinct from diversity, inclusiveness, and inclusion. Theories of organisational assimilation and member identity/identification are used to interpret the stories of organisational members from majority/dominant and minority/nondominant culture groups. The connection between ethnic/racial/national culture and the focal theories is explored. Clarification of the construct of cultural inclusivity and its relationship to cultural diversity, inclusiveness, and inclusion are developed. This enhances awareness of the core construct of cultural inclusivity in the stories of organisational members. Data gathered through loosely structured interviews produced stories from culturally diverse members’ experiences of similar communication from their organisations in Aotearoa/New Zealand about changes in working conditions under Covid-19 restrictions. Thematic analysis was used to explore participants’ perceptions of cultural inclusivity in organisational communication. Possibilities are presented for future research of this construct and its application in organisational communication.
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    Integrated threat theory : exploring prejudice toward the “Other” during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Journalism at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Nguyen, Thao Thanh Thi
    Since the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, thousands of cases related to discrimination, racism, and hate crimes toward Asian community have been reported all over the world. Utilising integrated threat theory (ITT) as its theoretical backbone, this thesis considers the impacts of perceived threats on anti-Asian attitudes/behaviours spreading at the same time as the global health pandemic. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the following purposes. First, it is crucial to investigate the why Asian groups have been blamed for the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. Second, this study investigates how a contagious virus affects different levels of prejudice toward the “other”, particularly Asians, amid a global health crisis. Third, the author aims to assess the cross-cultural validity of the existing measures to discover whether they are equivalent and applicable in different cultural settings. Finally, this thesis aims to respond to the way that how theoretical concepts and theories have been shifted in thinking about prejudice during the pandemic. The findings support previous studies that showed the use of social media may enhance factors of intergroup threat which may lead to prejudicial attitudes and behaviours. Also, the results reveal that COVID-19 is a stigmatizing disease and perceived as a danger of contact. Therefore, the study findings suggest using ITT as a theoretical guideline to predict prejudice and how publics attribute blame to a specific target group. Besides, it is significant to look beyond theories to better our understanding of public stigma in such a pandemic like COVID-19 because there might be a relation between perceptions of threats and blame attribution. Key words: integrated threat, prejudice, ethnocentrism, media richness, blame attribution, COVID-19
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    Narratives of embedded oppression and the Covid-19 pandemic response : voices from marginalised sexual violence survivors in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Helme, Caitlin
    The prevalence of sexual violence in Aotearoa New Zealand was of epidemic proportions even before the arrival of Covid-19, with people experiencing social marginalisation harmed more frequently, in different ways, and with less appropriate support available to them than the hegemonic population. In trying to understand these issues through a lens of intersectionality, I broadly enquired into the importance, impact, and challenges of navigating sexual violence for disabled people who experience multiple layers of oppression. Respondents told stories within both the pre- and peri-Covid-19 landscape. Seven respondents shared their stories during eight unstructured, teller-focussed interviews (Hydén, 2014). All seven respondents were service providers, with four respondents also being survivors of sexual violence themselves. Respondents had lived experience of marginalisation, with many inhabiting multiple marginalised social locations. All survivors identified as disabled, with further marginalised identities including being Indigenous, female, and/or queer, among others. A reflexive narrative analysis was conducted to make visible the expert stories as an ethical response to social justice. The narrative analysis outlines how embedded social inequities and power structures, including ableism, racism, sexism, and cisgenderism, intersect oppressively for survivors and create barriers to accessing appropriate support. Inequities are longstanding and rooted within historical oppressions such as colonisation. Respondents spoke of the compounding of existing inequities following the arrival of Covid-19, making visible an already under-resourced sector bearing the brunt of an unprecedented influx of sexual violence and the detrimental effects on survivors and providers alike. Radical change is required to address social inequities in promoting an equal response to sexual violence.
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    Essays on the dynamics of liquidity networks : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Farzami, Foroogh
    This dissertation presents three essays on liquidity interrelationships between firms in the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P500) index using network theory. Liquidity is the ease of trading securities in the financial market. It varies over time and differs significantly across firms. The principal challenge for market participants is the variability and uncertainty in liquidity. In simple terms, market liquidity risk relates to the inability to trade at a fair price with immediacy. Many studies investigate liquidity co-movement of assets and the associated risk. However, almost no empirical work has been devoted to investigating the possibility of liquidity interrelationship through a liquidity network. In the first essay, I investigate if a liquidity network among 1,174 firms included in the S&P500 exists using 30 years of data, employing a lead-lag liquidity network method to analyse liquidity interrelationships beyond contemporaneous spillover effects. I find an intertemporal liquidity network where 84% of the firms exhibit statistically significant connectivity in at least one direction during the sample period. The degree and manner of liquidity communication vary across the firms and are dynamic over time. Furthermore, I show that individual firms' characteristics, such as the level and change in liquidity, firm size, and return volatility, can explain their network structure. The outcome emphasizes the fragility of the liquidity system through the firms' connectivity which can be a new factor to consider when evaluating firms' expected rate of return. The second essay explores the relationship between the firm-level liquidity shock transmission through the liquidity network and the role that firm-size plays in the transmission process. I find that the transmission of the liquidity shock depends on the firm size. The greater intensity shocks influence the transmission more through larger firms than small firms. I also find that with one unit increase in the size differences between firms, the odds of firms not being connected in the network increases by 2.5%, suggesting similar-size firms tend to have more connectivity. Furthermore, looking at size-based portfolios, I find that although all the portfolios transmit shock significantly to one another, their explanatory power varies. Most portfolios tend to send out more shocks to the next largest quantiles. The outcome overall suggests that diversification against liquidity shock transmission is possible by including different firm sizes. Finally, I investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on liquidity interlinkages of U.S. industry groups. I document that sectors differ in their liquidity interactions during the pre-COVID period, with some sectors more interlinked than others. I also document that the crisis induced by COVID-19 had a significant effect on the liquidity network, with virtually all sectors becoming more interconnected relative to the pre-COVID period. The effect varies across industries, with the real estate sector being the most affected and telecommunication services the least. Overall, due to higher interconnectedness, liquidity risk became harder to diversify.