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    Narratives of cyberbullying in New Zealand secondary schools : reconceptualising cyberbullying as a social practice : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Papirany, Adi
    Currently, dominant conceptualisations of cyberbullying in academic literature and the New Zealand mass media locate the issue within ‘problem’ and ‘deviant’ individuals. This often leads to intervention efforts being directed at the individual level. To date, there is a paucity of research which investigates how cyberbullying occurs in practice and little insight into how numerous individuals engage collectively in such practices. This research explores the structural relations which produce and reproduce cyberbullying behaviours. Sixteen students who had either engaged in cyberbullying and/or experienced cyber-victimisation participated in narrative interviews. Data was analysed through a combination of narrative and discursive methods, examining the dominant constructions of cyberbullying and the various subject positions made available through them, along with the associated material effects. Student stories were integrated to form one overarching narrative consisting of four sub-narratives: ‘It’s Kill or be Killed’, ‘Leaders of the Pack’, ‘Constructing the Other’, and ‘Hunting the Other’. The overarching narrative was then concluded with an epilogue titled, ‘Beyond Brutality’. Overall, these narratives produce and reproduce cyberbullying practices by partitioning social relations into ‘us’ (the ‘cyberbullies’) versus ‘them’ (the ‘cybervictims’). By locating the issue of cyberbullying within a wider culture, this research challenges dominant conceptualisations of cyberbullying as an individualistic phenomenon. The implications of these findings for clinicians, teachers, parents and the broader community, are discussed.
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    Cyberbullying at work : exploring understandings and experiences : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resource Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) D'Souza, Natalia Judeline
    Despite growing evidence that workplace cyberbullying exerts a significant toll on employees and organisations, conceptualisation issues linger, impeding efforts toward prevention and intervention. Indeed, researchers continue to frame cyberbullying as an electronic extension of traditional bullying – overlooking the intricacies and potentially more damaging nature of this phenomenon, due to various cyber-specific features – or disregard conceptualisation altogether. Therefore, the main aim of this research was to explore how workplace cyberbullying is understood and experienced in New Zealand, with a focus on nursing. A three-study qualitative, interview-based research design was employed, with findings from each stage informing the subsequent research progress. Study one explored subject matter experts’ perspectives on workplace cyberbullying. In addition to suggesting a differentiation of cyberbullying from traditional bullying as a construct, findings also revealed professional-based distinctions around approaches to measurement and management, emphasising the subjectivity and contextual nature of cyberbullying. In line with these findings, studies two and three adopted a context-specific approach in exploring nurses’ understandings and experiences of workplace cyberbullying, respectively. The focus on nursing was intended to address a substantial knowledge gap: although this profession experiences higher-than-average rates of traditional bullying, to date, there had been no efforts to investigate how workplace cyberbullying manifested and was experienced within this group. Findings from study two suggested that although academics and nurses generally conceptualised workplace cyberbullying as being a distinct phenomenon, nurses tended to emphasise target perceptions of victimisation over features such as repetition and intent. Based on this understanding, a purpose-specific definition was formulated for study three to explore nurse experiences of workplace cyberbullying. Accordingly, it emerged that not only did most targets experience co-occurring forms of bullying, but in some cases, cyberbullying was perceived as more distressing with a potentially wider scope of harm. Further, findings from study three uncovered the risk of nurses experiencing cyberbullying from external sources such as students, patients, and patient relatives. Unfortunately, several work-related and industryspecific factors frequently presented barriers to reporting and successful resolution. Beyond these contributions to our knowledge on workplace cyberbullying, a multi-factor socioecological model is also posited as a framework guiding future research, as well as prevention and intervention efforts.
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    Should I tell on my peers? : student experiences and perceptions of cyberbullying : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Harrison, Gillian M
    Over the last decade, researchers have found that some adolescents are being bullied not only by traditional methods but also via electronic communication devices. This study provides an overview of student responses to a survey regarding cyberbullying, and explores the reasons students are often reluctant to report victimisation to adults. It includes both quantitative and qualitative data obtained from self-report surveys developed to measure the prevalence of cyberbullying, the media most frequently used for cyberbullying, the nature and content of offensive communications, the extent of reporting victimisation, and student views on preventing and reducing cyberbullying. A total of 154 students aged 13 to 18 years old from three schools in the Bay of Plenty participated in the study. The results provide some insights into the reasons that adolescents often do not tell an adult about being cyberbullied. The main reasons for not telling appear to be beliefs that peers can help more than an adult as well as a culture in which telling an adult may be considered "ratting". Student views on how schools can best deal with cyberbullying involved issues of confidentiality and safety, appropriate discipline, and ensuring school-wide awareness of anti-bullying procedures. These views offer valuable feedback with the potential to inform current anti-bullying programmes.
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    A cross-cultural examination of personality factors associated with text bullying in 13 - 14-year-old girls : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2009) Sanderson, James Edward
    This research set out to determine factors associated with text bullying. It examined the relationship between personality traits and the level of hostility expressed by students in reaction to sample text messages. One hundred and ninety eight girls aged 13 and 14 in Canada and New Zealand volunteered to complete a questionnaire consisting of four personality measures - the impulsivity subscale of the PRF-E, cynical distrust scale (revised), needs for power scale (revised), and the rejection sensitivity scale (adult, short). The survey also rated their proposed likely response to eight sample text messages that covered four themes and to two levels of intensity. Results using Pearson’s r correlation of .01 demonstrated a significant relationship between hostility and impulsivity. There was no significant difference in either the results of the personality measures or their level of hostility between the results of the Canadian and New Zealand participants. How these findings contribute to the current theoretical knowledge of adolescent bullying and the practical application of these findings for schools are also discussed.