Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Civil rights

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Economic sanctions as a means to enforce human rights in Burma (Myanmar) : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies
    (Massey University, 2004) Thin, Ma Kyi Kyi
    Since the end of the Cold War, human rights has become a central focus of international relationships, especially the relationship between developed countries (the West) and developing countries (the Rest). Burma is one of the developing countries whose relationship with Western governments is premised on the issue of human rights. In the pursuit of human rights enforcement, the United States and the European Union employ economic sanctions against Burma. While economic sanctions are designed to encourage a transition to democratic rule and a greater respect for human rights, studies show that little attention has been paid to the effectiveness of such measurements. In this study, a literature review and field research are carried out as an effort to assess the effectiveness of economic sanctions in Burma.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A joint system of summary disposals for the New Zealand Armed Forces of the 21st century : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Defence and Strategic Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Griggs, Christopher John
    The vast majority of charges under New Zealand military law are tried or dealt with summarily by commanders. There are currently two summary disposal systems, one for the Navy and one for the Army and Air Force. Those systems, which have evolved separately in line with the separate origins of New Zealand's naval and military forces, have fundamentally different conceptual bases. The naval system is quasi-adversarial in that it projects the appearance of an adversarial trial in the ordinary sense of the term, while retaining some inquisitorial elements such as the wide power of the officer exercising summary powers to call and question witnesses. The military system on the other hand is entirely inquisitorial, with no prosecutor or defending officer. This thesis proposes a joint system of summary disposals, in the sense that it would apply to all three Services, which takes account of the demands of human rights law as reflected in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and adopts initiatives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing systems.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Indigenous rights and development : inequality constraints in Brazilian cities : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (The Author, 2013) Souza Zaiden, Soraya
    This thesis aims at identifying how indigenous rights, as part of a human rights approach to development, have been addressed by urban welfare policies in Brazil. As a starting point, this desk based study is primarily focused on an analysis of the impacts of urbanisation on indigenous livelihoods. Despite not being a new trend, urbanisation of indigenous people has exposed their situation of deprivation and disadvantage, and the increasing pressures of assimilation policies. Social indicators of urban indigenous communities’ wellbeing have pointed to a growing gap between indigenous and non-indigenous population. The access to distinct basic welfare provision is not only determinant in reducing disparities but would also represent the compliance of a state with the indigenous rights framework. This thesis investigates if and how the Brazilian social agenda is in compliance with and indigenous rights framework. The Brazilian government acknowledged Brazil as multi-ethnic, which is reflected in the domestic legal framework, and also in the ratification of international covenants and declarations related to indigenous rights. However, the need of the urban indigenous population for differentiated service provisions has represented a challenging matter in policy making. The existence of an implementation gap between the indigenous rights framework and their effective application is a relevant theme for analysis and evaluation, in order to identify the factors that are hindering state compliance with the standards that have already been legislated. To this regard, the experience of urban indigenous communities in Brazil is explored in two case studies, related to the Pankararu, in Sao Paulo, and the Terena, in Campo Grande. The outcomes of the mainstream welfare policies are also investigated through the lens of urban indigenous communities. Ultimately this thesis unveils the potential of the Brazilian state, as the duty-bearer of indigenous rights, as capable and responsible to unleash the realisation of indigenous expectations to overcome powerlessness, economic underdevelopment and cultural disruptions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    'A movement reconsidered' : an examination of how black civil rights in the USA, 1954-1970 has been taught as a senior subject in New Zealand secondary schools, and whether or not it accurately reflects contemporary scholarship and new trends of interpretation : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy, History, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Agent, Roydon
    This thesis examines how Black Civil Rights (BCR) in the USA, 1954–1970 has been taught as a senior subject in New Zealand secondary schools since its introduction into the New Zealand History curriculum in 1988. It provides a historical perspective on the political, economic, and social context in which the National History Curriculum Committee (NHCC) made the decision to introduce this topic into the Form 5 (now Year 11) History curriculum. It is also concerned with whether the conceptions of Black Civil Rights history from 1988 to the present (2013), reflects contemporary scholarship and new trends of interpretation. This thesis argues that the continued reliance on a classical/master-narrative approach to the teaching and learning of BCR in the USA, 1954–1970, reflects a historiography that is frozen in time. The result is that teachers are disseminating a conception of BCR history that is politically slanted, conservative, and Eurocentric. It is an approach that perpetuates the myth that there is inevitability about America’s progressive history; that its lofty notions of democracy, justice, and the equality of all people, will in the end triumph. Furthermore, this thesis contends that as one of the two most popular Year 11 History topics, this selective, sanitized approach to teaching BCR deprives students the opportunity to understand that historiography is subject to change, that historical events are open to interpretation, and that history as it is written is not always history as it was. As an alternative, this thesis advocates a counter-narrative approach that draws on recent scholarship and new trends of interpretation. I acknowledge the Massey University Ethics Committee who approved this research on 28 June 2012 as a Low Risk Notification.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Senior citizens? : old age and citizenship in provincial New Zealand communities : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2002) Kerr, Alison Lassie
    This research considers the extent and quality of the citizenship of older New Zealanders in the "Third Age", a stage in the adult life cycle between the second age of careers, partnership and parenting and the fourth and final phase of (usually) increasing dependency. The study questions: whether 'senior citizens' have access to the material and cultural resources to enable them to choose between different courses of action in their daily lives; whether existing intergenerational relations enable them to appropriate substantive rights and responsibilities; and what are the relational practices and processes, the networks and affiliations, through which citizenship may be 'performed' by older people? This research was carried out with six groups of elderly people in a range of communities in the province of Hawke's Bay on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The purpose of running six different focus groups, each over a six week period, was to generate discussion of the issues for older people as well as individual stories about the lives of elderly people in particular local communities. The aim was to investigate the meaning of old age for elderly New Zealanders by critically analysing the term 'senior citizen'. The study built on contemporary theories of ageing and citizenship, using a narrative collective life history approach in order to focus on older people's personal experience of policy, and the capacity for citizenship that they bring with them into old age. The study also identifies national and local government policies, national and local organisations, media representations of old age, local communities, families and the attitudes of elderly people themselves as important influences on the extent to which they are able to exercise and enjoy their rights and responsibilities as senior citizens. My central thesis is that senior citizenship depends on a civil society which supports autonomy and connectedness for all its citizens. The balance between these two aspects of citizenship is culturally determined and sensitive to outcomes in a range of social domains over the life span. Recommendations focus on self-determination and social inclusion for older people through anti-ageist policies and practices at the national and the local level, and further research into the plans and aspirations of senior citizens.