Massey Documents by Type
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294
Browse
10 results
Search Results
Item Climate-resilient development planning for cities: progress from Cape Town.(Springer Nature Limited published in partnership with RMIT University, 2023-02-28) Simpson NP; Simpson KJ; Ferreira AT; Constable A; Glavovic B; Eriksen SEH; Ley D; Solecki W; Rodríguez RS; Stringer LCPriorities and programmes in the City of Cape Town's Integrated Development Plan (2022-2027) demonstrate progress towards operationalising local level planning for climate-resilient development. These developments provide lessons of process and focus on transformative outcomes for cities seeking equitable and just development while implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation.Item Pacific Island Labour programmes in New Zealand : an aid to Pacific Island development? : a critical lens on the Recognised Seasonal Employer policy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2015) Rockell, Dennis GrahamThe New Zealand Recognised Employer (RSE) Policy was designed to remedy labour shortages in the horticulture/viticulture industry early in the twenty-first century. It was the first New Zealand contract labour migration programme to be designed with the explicit intent of the development of the source countries, consisting mainly of small Pacific Island States. This research sought to examine within a historical context whether the programme was beneficial to the source countries and communities, and whether the programme met the expectations of international labour conventions which New Zealand has signed. An attempt was made to discover whether, when compared with antecedent programmes in New Zealand and North America, the RSE represented a new paradigm in the design and implementation of a contract migrant labour programme. The field work was carried out for twenty months between December 2011 and August 2013, involved a grower survey and over 100 semi-structured interviews with Government officials, horticulturalists, migrant workers, pastoral care workers, and other interested parties. Time in southern Vanuatu was divided between interviewing migrant RSE workers in Port Vila and visiting 100 village communities on Tanna Island. Assessments were made of access to the programme for the rural and urban poor and of the positive and negative impacts of the programme. Positive features observed included the benefits of close government monitoring of worker accommodation, the transparency of the remuneration, the interest of many employers in assisting workers to remit funds to source communities, house building and infrastructural benefits gained by many workers, and the transfer of useful skills. Negative features included the powerlessness of the workers to negotiate their work conditions, the failure of some employers to address workers’ specific needs, the social dislocation of some workers leading to alcohol abuse, the frequency of work interruptions due particularly to weather conditions, the excessive work hours on some nightshifts at minimum wage, and a lack of connection between recruitment patterns and areas of greatest need. The RSE policy has come about in an era of migration optimism. Since the mid-1990s the total global flow of remittances has exceeded the level of official development assistance. However most literature regarding remittance flows and transnational communities is set within a context of diaspora. The RSE was carefully designed to prevent overstaying of visa entitlements, in order to prevent any growth of diaspora. Consequently the overall financial flows in the case of Vanuatu are small compared to such sectors as tourism, and the position of the RSE in the migration-development nexus is somewhat contradictory.Item Forced assimilation and development : the Chinese-Indonesians under Soeharto's New Order (1965-1998) : a research project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development, Development Studies, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(The Author, 2014) Sidjaya, Calvin MichelChinese Indonesians are an ethnic minority who have settled in Indonesia since at least the 15th century who comprise 1.2% of the Indonesian population. From 1965-1998, Chinese-Indonesians became subject to various assimilationist laws under the rationale that this ethnic minority had failed to integrate into Indonesian society. Under Soeharto’s administration, Chinese-Indonesians had to give up their political and cultural rights, although they were allowed to participate widely in the economic sector. This desk-based research studied assimilationist laws and their impact on the ‘development’ of Chinese-Indonesians by studying various laws and through the use of an online questionnaire to a sample of Chinese-Indonesians. At first glance, this ethnic group can be classified as ‘developed’ at least economically, however when investigated further, systemic political and cultural exclusion has harmed their full human development. The case of Chinese-Indonesians reflects Amartya Sen’s argument in ‘Development as Freedom (1999), that wealth is only one aspect of human development. However care should be taken when considering the Chinese-Indonesian case. Generalisations should not be made about the harms that can result from assimilation policies as they were formulated during the Cold War. Assimilation is still important but should not be coercive and ensure multiple identities (such as ethnic and national identity) can coexist. This research report also uses right to development as framework. It concludes that the right to development may not be inclusive to Chinese-Indonesians’ situations because it still narrow down development as ‘growth’.Item 'It's not a him, it's a her' : an exploration into the changes and challenges, meanings and mechanisms in the lives of Timorese women workers on the offshore Bayu-Undan Gas Recycling Project : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2014) Adams, VirginiaThis thesis is concerned with the ways in which the potentials of a group of Timorese women, with early aspirations of achieving economic self-reliance through formal work, have been realised through their recruitment into non-traditional jobs on the Bayu-Undan Gas Recycling Project in the Timor Sea. The aspirational horizons and experiences of the sixteen women who comprise the sample of this study run counter to those of most women in Timor-Leste, where poverty and pervasive patriarchal ideologies relegate them to the domestic sphere as wives and mothers subject to the authority of men. Their reality as working women also runs counter to that of other female waged workers in the developing world reported as experiencing poor wages and working conditions and discrimination in the workplace and for some, resentment or violence from husbands. The findings of this study point to new evidence of young Timorese women at the beginning of their post-secondary school journeys exhibiting a high level of agency. This is reflected in their personal qualities, both inherent and socially fostered, of determination, courage and self-belief, and confidence in their aptitude to learn new competencies, with strategic goals of economic independence and an awareness of their right to shape their own lives towards this end. In addition to this they have had the crucial social resource of support from family members and from husbands and male partners. It is rare to see the inclusion of gender, explicitly or tacitly, in the local content commitments associated with petroleum extraction projects in developing countries. This thesis has identified the pivotal role, played by a locally-owned Timorese contracting company, confident in the capacity of Timorese women to be effective offshore crewmembers, in shaping the employee component of the Bayu-Undan project’s local content to incorporate females. What is also of significance is that these women occupy well-paid, valued positions of responsibility on the western platform, where a culture of non-gender discrimination sees them receiving respect from male personnel, including their Timorese male co-workers, and being supported in their ambitions to up-skill, in some cases into historically male areas. At home, the women’s new identities as high income-earners employed in non-traditional work have given them greater social and economic status. While there is some concern that their economic autonomy could be eroded by excessive family demands, the new financial resources provided by the women are seen by them, and others, as important obligations towards improving the lives and prospects of extended family members. Additionally, as a ‘realising potential’ outcome from their incomes, new opportunities and valued ways of being have opened up for the women themselves and their immediate families.Item Enlarging the field of credible experience : supporting young Solomon Islanders as agents of positive change in their communities : 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, 2012) Davidson, Alice JoyThis thesis explores the idea of young Solomon Islanders as agents of positive change and argues that understandings around youth agency, its expressions, and the factors that support and constrain it, should be a key feature framing youth and development. Young people are generally viewed as those between the ages of 15 and 29, and make up a growing proportion of Pacific populations. Valuing them as solutions for development, rather than as 'problems', is being increasingly promoted throughout the region. Investigations into youth agency, however, are relatively recent and there is still a great deal to be learnt about how they could be used to improve the situation for youth. This thesis adds to these explorations by investigating the constraints and enablers for transformative youth agency in Solomon Islands, and by examining young people's articulations of agency and how they employ these in order to carve out a place of credibility for themselves in their communities and nation. A 'hopeful' post-development approach, which holds that development should validate previously subjugated practices and should prioritise assets and agency, is taken as the foundation for explorations of youth and development. Agency is then explored using a framework for investigating factors which 'thin' and 'thicken' youth agency. Fieldwork took place over five weeks in Solomon Islands in late 2011. A narrative inquiry methodological framework, guided by principles from Pacific methodologies and an actor-oriented approach, was utilised for this thesis research. The findings of this study show that young people do face multifaceted constraints on their agency, but that they can work in spite of these when they are socially supported. The socially situated nature of youth agency is therefore highlighted, and the need for young people to be positioned within their social networks discussed. Additionally, the findings contest the negative conceptualisations held to be present around young Solomon Islanders by indicating the many ways in which they are actively contributing to their communities. The main implication of the findings, and the conclusion of the thesis, is that development policy and practice must build on understandings of young people as socially situated contributors, as well as, on the factors that constrain and enable their agency, in order to legitimise and support youth as agents of positive change.Item The role of government in setting an appropriate environment for public infrastructure development : a case study of hydropower development in Lao PDR : 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, 2011) MacGeorge, Richard B.The role of government in setting an appropriate environment for public infrastructure development is explored to understand whether there are strong links between infrastructure, development and government. In examining this subject, a number of related issues are also considered, including why infrastructure is important to development, how managing resources well leads to better infrastructure outcomes and why is it essential that infrastructure is managed more effectively. Each of these leads to a better understanding of the roles government should play in infrastructure management. The methodology is designed to develop a definition for infrastructure and understand what the literature says about the links between government, development and infrastructure. The manner in which infrastructure has been provided historically is also considered and this research supports a system of infrastructure management. The system is then investigated through a hydropower project in Laos that is examined as a qualitative case study. The links between government, development and infrastructure are found to be strong in this thesis, but governments have had mixed involvement in infrastructure provision through the ages. At the end of the last century government is seen to have increasingly engaged with the private sector in a structured way. The core roles of government that cannot be left to others are found to include planning, procurement and regulation of infrastructure outcomes. These roles should be delivered within an overarching national infrastructure plan that is carried out by a centralised Infrastructure Management Unit. The case study project highlights some enhancements that can be made to the system proposed in the thesis and helps explain why there are sometimes exceptions to application of the whole system, although exceptions should be limited because caseby- case project development is suboptimal to initiatives that are formed as part of a national infrastructure planning process.Item Adult literacy and women's empowerment : exploring the contribution of a non-formal adult literacy programme to women's empowerment in Aileu, Timor Leste : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Albany, Manawatu [i.e. Manawatu], New Zealand(Massey University, 2010) Kotsapas, AliciaWhile the majority of studies concerning education in Timor Leste have focused on formal schooling, this thesis seeks to explore the contribution of non-formal adult literacy programmes (NFALP) to rural women’s empowerment in Aileu, Timor Leste by examining the challenges that rural women face in their daily lives, whether their participation in the NFALP and literacy acquisition has assisted them with overcoming these challenges and brought benefits to their lives, and if this has led to their empowerment. The study adopts a gender perspective and focuses on the individual voices of rural adult women in considering how NFALPs are impacting on rural women’s lives, and provides a space for their voice, one which has been marginalised in the literature so far, to be heard. The study examines three important empowerment frameworks presented by Rowlands (1995), Kabeer (1999) and Stromquist (1993) which are relevant to research concerning women and education. The study employs a qualitative feminist methodology in seeking an in-depth understanding of the reality and lived experience of rural women participating in the programme through semi-structured interviews with literacy programme participants and key informants during a period of fieldwork in Timor Leste The research findings reveal that the motivation behind women’s participation in a NFALP is directly related to addressing their practical gender needs, rather than their strategic gender needs, which revolve around reproductive tasks and unpaid productive work. The study found that NFALP offers rural women who missed out on formal schooling another opportunity to achieve an education, however, yet the heavy burden of women’s traditional reproductive roles severely restricts their ability to regularly attend NFALP. Finally, the research found that rural women did experience empowerment through their participation in the NFALP, the most common empowerment dimension experienced being the personal (Rowlands, 1995) or psychological dimension (Stromquist, 1993) of empowerment.Item The power to reform : water and the poverty of democracy and rights in the era of "good" governance : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University(Massey University, 2010) Walters, VickySince the early 1990s the achievement of ‘good governance’ has been the dominant discourse and the determined path to social and economic development. This discourse and its ensuing policy reform prescriptions promise that with the right alignment of actors and the right governance institutions, capitalist economic growth, human rights, and democracy will flourish. Indeed, in the discourse all three are regarded as complimentary and necessary for sustainable economic and social development. Such promises make the discourse very seductive and it has been embraced by international development agencies and many NGOs, citizens and private sector actors. But there is reason to suspect that below this veneer the dynamics of development may not be as progressive as they appear - especially for the deepening of democracy and the expansion of rights for the poor. Based on a year and half of ethnographic fieldwork on governance reforms in the urban water sector in the south Indian state of Karnataka, this thesis presents a critical challenge to the contemporary development paradigm of good governance. The study focuses on two specific propositions that underlie current policies of urban water governance. The first refers to a claim that good governance is both democratic and pro-market. This proposition appears to embody an inherently undemocratic assumption that in order for governance to be ‘good’ a democratic consensus would necessarily, and essentially, have to favour capitalism as a mode of economic organisation and the commercialisation and marketisation of basic services. The second proposition refers to a claim that commercially oriented water services, whether private or public, are good for poor and marginalised citizens and are compatible with the expansion and realisation of human rights. Through the use of detailed critical ethnography these propositions are examined as they intersect at three levels: policy, practice (process), and outcome. In examining the connections and intersections of these three levels of reform I argue that a number of contradictions and tensions exist within, and between what the discourse promises, the everyday practices of how they are implemented, and in the outcomes of such. As the title suggests, this thesis is about the power to reform in the contemporary development era of good governance. But it is also about the power to resist such reforms and the contestations and struggles over the meanings and material realms of development that take place at the site of governance reforms. The ambition of these contestations and struggles is the hope for manifesting more just and humane development in the present and within possible futures.Item The role of foreign direct investment in socio-economic development : a case study of Vietnam during the transition period : a thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Turitea Campus, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2001) Pham, Hoang MaiThe role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the socio-economic development of developing countries, especially countries in transition toward a market-oriented economy, has been the topic of debate between several schools of thought, notably the mainstream and radical views. The mainstream view argues that FDI flows cover the savings-investment, foreign exchange, technological and fiscal gaps in developing countries, and hence promote economic growth. In contrast, the radical view argues that FDI flows are detrimental to socio-economic development, they have not supplemented but substituted for domestic savings, and thus they have deteriorated the balance of payments and failed to address poverty problems in developing countries. In reality, FDI flows have provided positive impacts on socio-economic development in some developing countries, especially Asian newly industrialising countries (NICs), but generated many detrimental effects in other developing countries. In Asian NICs, FDI flows tend to be useful and have fewer detrimental effects because the governments of those countries have intervened appropriately and created favourable environments for FDI through implementing export-oriented industrialisation strategies. In the case of Vietnam, about $35.3 billion of FDI was committed, of which $14.2 billion was implemented, over the 1988-1998 period. Such large amounts of FDI flows have created significant impacts on the socio-economic development of Vietnam. Over the 1988-1998 period, FDI flows have accounted for around one-third of Vietnam's investment, over 20 percent of Vietnam' exports in 1998 and overall, between 1 percent to 1.5 percent of annual GDP growth. However, the unequal allocation of FDI flows between regions and provinces in Vietnam may promote socio-economic development in some regions and provinces but also widen the gap between rich and poor regions. The overall success of attracting and utilising FDI flows in Vietnam has been attributed to the role of government policies that maximise the positive impacts and minimise the detrimental effects of FDI flows. Government's tax preference policies and domestic protection policies have been found to play an important role in the performance of foreign-invested enterprises.Item A framework for social capital : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerton [i.e. Palmerston] North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2009) Kibblewhite, AndrewThis dissertation is concerned with enhancing the utility of social capital by developing and testing a comprehensive and measurable framework as a tool for researchers, policy-makers, and development theorists and practitioners. A framework was developed for measuring the degree to which different forms of social capital reside in a community and for distinguishing community-to community variations. The Framework was also designed to identify the accumulation of social capital in relation to structural characteristics within a community, and to identify what advantages might be associated with variants of social capital. The pursuit of the understanding of social capital has been convened within narrow disciplinary fields and has reduced the notion in definition, purpose, and utility. Much of the literature and past research has focused on approximations to identify social capital that are field-specific and representative of, at best, markers of social capital, rather than social capital itself. For this reason, this dissertation is concerned with developing a robust framework that has the potential to embrace the nature and extent of social capital across these disciplinary fields, while providing insight into the forms, influences, and trajectories of social capital. The utility of the Social Capital Framework that was developed for this dissertation was examined by transforming the Framework into a survey tool for administering in two communities to identify applicability and sensitivity for identifying the degree to which variants of social capital reside. The results showed that the Framework was able to distinguish the degree to which different forms of social capital existed, and how the social capital accumulates in relations to structural variables, in particular, gender. The Framework’s utility was not universal across all forms of social capital and showed that further enhancements are required, particularly, if it is to enable social capital to be attributed to forms of advantage. The results also identified areas where future research would be of value, particularly, in examining the trajectory of people’s forms of social capital.
