Massey Documents by Type
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Community resilience, capitals, and power relations : stories from the Waimakariri District about the aftermath of the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquakes in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) García Cartagena, MartínSituated on the southern Pacific Rim, New Zealand’s seismic profile has long posed risks for New Zealand communities. In this geological context, fostering community resilience to natural hazards is vital and resilience is beginning to be mainstreamed into New Zealand’s planning and emergency management systems. However, a challenge emerges: how can the complex and contested concept of community resilience be operationalised in practice? This thesis addresses this question by critically evaluating how community resources and assets can be framed as community capitals, and exploring how these were mobilised in the Waimakariri District; an area affected by the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquake sequence. A novel conceptual framework, the Community Resilience Capitals Framework, is developed on the basis of a literature review on resilience and capitals integrating Social-Ecological Systems theory, community resilience theory, and multi-capital frameworks. The research was underpinned by social constructionism, framed by a critical inquiry perspective and conducted using a Community-Based Participatory design. A mixed-methods approach was applied to explore the breadth and depth of Waimakariri post-Canterbury earthquake recovery stories. Purposive and snowballing methods were used to identify and recruit 51 research participants. Data collection methods included a pilot study, case studies, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Data were subjected to content and narrative analyses; informed by the theories of Bourdieu, Foucault, and Harré. Research findings show that capitals tend to be theorised as a variety of compartmentalised static concepts. However, physical capitals, such as built and economic capitals, and metaphysical capitals, such as symbolic, cultural, social, political and moral capitals, are accrued, assembled, and mobilised by actors shaping complex capital networks. Those who have or are able to mobilise the largest assemblages of capitals position themselves and others who have accrued less capital within the hierarchically structured fields of disaster response, recovery and regeneration. It is an actor’s position within the fields that gives them the legitimacy (symbolic capital) to influence matters (central position), or be subjected to dominant actors (marginal positions). Multiple exemplars to illustrate capital accrual and field positioning are explored in this thesis such as central governments’ reliance on the insurance and reinsurance sectors’ economic capital to stabilise New Zealand’s financial markets. Consequently, insurance-related stakeholders were imbued with significant political capital and able to determine the priorities for earthquake recovery, while local communities’ priorities were marginalised. Key findings of this research indicate that physical and metaphysical capitals are selectively accrued as well as mobilised by actors positioned in the fields of disaster risk reduction, in order to influence negotiations pertaining to well-being and resilience priorities. Imbalances in capital accrual by actors fuel inequities in community resilience building processes. This research has identified that the complex nature of capitals and the ways they are mobilised to facilitate community wellbeing are not adequately acknowledged in prevailing emergency management and planning practices. The Community Resilience Capitals Framework reveals the complex nature of capital interactions and can be used to reveal how equitable and inclusive local community resilience building processes are in practice, in a place- and context-sensitive manner.Item Negotiating recovery from alcoholism in the context of the Canterbury earthquakes : a thesis submitted to Massey University in fulfilment of the requirements for a Master of Philosophy, Massey University, February 2014(Massey University, 2014) Williamson, Kerry JThis study employs narrative inquiry to document participants’ experiences in relation to maintaining sobriety while living through the Christchurch earthquakes. Eight women and one man were recruited via purposive sampling. Of the 9 participants, 4 were in stable recovery (greater than 5 years), 2 were in sustained recovery (between 1 and 5 years) and 3 were in early recovery (less than 1 year). Qualitative data was gathered using semi-structured, in-depth interviews utilising thematic analysis and incorporating an abductive logic. In the process of recovery from alcohol dependence previous life trauma, environmental conditions, uncertainty about the future and limited resources can be both barriers to recovery from alcoholism and growth opportunities after natural disaster. For some of the participants who contributed to this research, memories of early childhood abuse were recalled and symbolised by the seismic activity during the greater earthquake period. Participants in early recovery or relapsing continued to experience traumatic stress through re-victimisation or trauma re-enactment. Some participants in active addiction identified the earthquakes as both a hindrance and a help with their drinking and self-harming behaviour. For others, a sense of deep personal loss was felt when viewing the devastation of the ruined city which mirrored and reminded them of their life in active addiction. The research findings extend and complement existing theories of ambiguous loss and Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) within the context of addiction and recovery capital. This research also adds to the addiction, domestic violence and disaster literature that is currently available. Narratives of participants in short or long term recovery, suggested that ambiguous loss, and associated grief stemming from both situational and cumulative trauma, surfaced when viewing the earthquake damage. Living through the earthquakes was a time of adaptation and resourcefulness for all but for alcoholics in recovery extra resilience was needed to attend to addiction recovery within the larger picture of daily disaster coping. For all participants post traumatic growth was both an outcome and a process creating a more robust identity at individual levels, post disaster. Findings indicate that trauma can be instrumental in creating alcohol abuse and dependency and that recovery from alcoholism after natural disaster is a complex process requiring personal, community and political interventions.