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    The trip of a lifetime : journeying to the afterlife in ancient Greece : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History with a Classical Topic at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Chalklen, Rose Miriam Lisa
    Though there has been much scholarship on various aspects of death and the afterlife in ancient Greece, there has been little attempt to view the evidence in the context of the afterlife journey as a composite whole. This thesis aims to present a comprehensive study on different aspects of ancient Greek eschatology in the context of the afterlife journey, in order to reconstruct the process of the transition. This is achieved by investigating the eschatological themes and motifs which are reflected in ancient Greek literature, iconography, and archaeological remains. The text is loosely structured on a traveller’s ‘guide’, which consists of three basic stages of the afterlife journey: preparation, transit, and arrival. Chapter One outlines the actions undertaken in preparation for the soul’s journey to the afterlife, primarily regarding the performance of proper burial rites, which were imagined in early times to directly affect the soul’s incorporation into Hades, but by the Classical period were no longer necessary for entry into the afterlife. Still, certain practices, such as the provision of grave goods, did facilitate the soul’s journey to a certain extent. Chapter Two examines how the soul’s transit from the upper to the lower world was imagined, either through flight or by foot, along with the help of mythological guides. Evidence also shows that the soul was imagined to reach the underworld by travelling to the horizon in the west, after which it was required to cross a body of water. Chapter Three explores the different afterlife destinations for the dead and their criteria for admission. Sources suggest that places of reward and punishment for ordinary souls in the afterlife emerge during the late Archaic and early Classical periods, but became more clearly established during the Classical period. Also assessed are the challenges and hazards which the soul encounters after it has arrived in the underworld, which ultimately functioned to determine the final destiny of the soul. Analysis of the primary sources shows that there was a development of afterlife beliefs during the Archaic period which led to a more complex and elaborate portrayal of the afterlife journey than what had previously been described by Homer.
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    Fostering a new approach : how alternative care models in Greece are meeting unaccompanied minors' rights : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Finlay, Liselle
    Unaccompanied minors seeking refuge in Greece are met with woefully inadequate care structures for meeting their needs. Despite the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC] stipulating children’s entitlement to appropriate care arrangements, there is a gap between this rhetoric and the reality of alternative care provision for minor refugees. Significantly, institutions are prioritised over familybased solutions. There is also a lack of research addressing the processes of power and exclusion in refugee hosting countries, and how these structural conditions influence unaccompanied minors’ situations and their wellbeing. To address these issues, this study adopts a socio-political construction of children’s rights to understand both how different care models are meeting unaccompanied minors rights, and why these models were selected. In conceiving rights as a socio-political process, this thesis addresses issues of power and agency in the navigation of rights. Tensions between restrictive migration policy and commitment to the CRC will be shown to compromise care provision for unaccompanied minors through conscription to control over care. Despite the overarching structural limitations, young people in this study find avenues for exercising their agency, albeit often risky ones. What emerges is a need to understand both young people’s vulnerabilities and strength, and how they are both these things in different parts of their lives. This thesis presents results of fieldwork largely undertaken in Athens over a six-week period in 2018. A cross-section of care providers engaged in the welfare of unaccompanied minors participated in the study. Also interviewed were the foremost experts in Greece’s child protection system: young people who themselves have experienced these care models. Findings reveal the impact migration policy has had in undermining care provision for unaccompanied minors, and the corresponding tensions that emerge for NGOs looking to address urgent needs and find sustainable solutions. This study recorded that rights violations and risks are occurring. It also explored the barriers and opportunities to expand the spectrum of care options and strengthen optimal care, which were identified as family and community-based alternative care initiatives.
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    Findings ways to survive : 24 (Auckland) Battalion and the experiential learning curve : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Connor, Pete
    For many years New Zealand's military historiography has been dogged by the myth New Zealanders were natural soldiers. James Belich believes that this myth had its origins in the Boer War, where Social Darwinism, attempts in New Zealand to forge a national identity, as well the British moral panic about the declining physical attributes of their fighting men, all collided and placed the New Zealand soldier up on a pedestal as an example of the moral fitness of New Zealand, and a validation of the notion that New Zealand was a 'Better Britain'.1 (James Belich, Paradise Reforged: A History of the New Zealanders from the 1880s to the Year 2000, Auckland, Allen Lane Penguin Books, 2001, pp.97-98, 104-105. ) Despite the trauma experienced by thousands of New Zealanders who witnessed combat during the First and Second World Wars, the public refutation of this myth by high profile soldiers such as Major-General Howard Kippenberger, and attempts by historians to try and dispel this myth, it continues to be repeated and as recent as 2004 the television documentary programme, The Khaki All Blacks, was expounding this argument, whilst John Thomson's 2004 book Warrior Nation, promotes such a myth in a subtle form.2 (David Crerar and Steven Orsbourn, Khaki All Blacks, Auckland, Oxygen Television, 2004: John Thomson, Warrior Nation: New Zealanders at the Front 1900-2000, Christchurch, Hazard Press, 2000.) This thesis will address this myth by examining 24 (Auckland) Battalion's experiential learning curve: That is, how did 24 Battalion acquire military experience and knowledge, both from internal Battalion sources, as well as from external agencies and then disseminate that knowledge and experience to prepare for military operations? While it is difficult to quantify an intangible value such as 'experience', enough information can be derived from a number of sources that can give an overall picture of the patterns of experience and the changes of experience levels during three periods of 24 Battalion's life. These three case studies are the lead up to the Greek Campaign (February 1940 to February 1941), the Second Battle of El Alamein (September and October 1942) and finally, the Third Battle of Cassino (January and February 1944). These three periods assess how prepared the personnel of 24 Battalion were for upcoming operations and what preparations, both through formal process such as training, and informal processes like a buddy system, were utilised to overcome perceived deficiencies. Finally 24 Battalion's actions in the three subsequent periods of operations are then studied in detail so the question can be asked, what impact did experience and the acquisition of military knowledge have on 24 Battalion's primary infantry role?