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    A history of intergroup relations in New Zealand : a trade-off between Māori agency and inclusion : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Choi, Yun-Seon (Sarah)
    Growing fragmentation in historical attitudes can be observed alongside increasing political polarization and conflict in many societies, with both of these trends mutually reinforcing each other. Amidst these dynamics, there is a growing urgent need to understand both the politics and psychology of collective remembering. Although there has been much theorizing about the ways that historical narratives are curated by political elites and institutions in ways that promote a positive and moral image of the nation, there has been a lack of research investigating the ways in which such narratives are actually received, internalized, appropriated, and/or resisted by the individuals that they are directed toward. To address this gap, the current thesis identifies and maps out popular historical narratives that are shared by lay individuals embedded in the national context of the United States. Importantly, how and the extent to which these narratives are connected to the present-day context of nations is a key consideration throughout this endeavour. According to theories of collective remembering (Assmann, 2013; Rigney, 2005), historical narratives that are ‘active’ in public discourse ought to incorporate elements from the nation’s distant, mythologized past in continuity with their more recent, living memories to connect the past meaningfully to the present, and to inform a meaningful and coherent sense of national identity over time. By investigating the dynamics of historical narratives, representations, and identity at the level of individuals, while still incorporating the political and social contexts that they are embedded in, the current thesis contributes to bridging the gap between psychology and politics in the domain of collective remembering. Chapter 2 investigated how communicative memories (memories of public events that have occurred within the lifetimes of people alive or personally remembered today) index the present-day climates of societies. The findings from this chapter demonstrated how recent memories of terrorism drive an extreme negative climate in Western countries, while recent memories of national independence underpinned a positive climate across majority world countries. In Chapter 3, I explored how historical narratives are articulated by individuals (embedded in the American context) to give meaning to these historical representations, and thereby orient the nation’s past to its present. This chapter identified popular historical narratives which were anchored in positive representations of national foundations, and in turn, were positively associated with national identification. However, these were identified alongside a popular counter-narrative that was critical of the mythologization of America’s past. Moreover, there was considerable plurality and fragmentation in the narrative landscape, with many American participants failing to articulate a distinct historical narrative at all. In Chapter 4, I employed an experimental approach to show how this fragmentation is reduced, while endorsement of positive narratives about the nation becomes tighter when individuals are reminded of: 1) national foundations (the past reinforcing the present) and 2) a present-day context of intergroup threat (the present reinforcing the past). In Chapter 5, I discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of the studies and their findings within a dynamic framework of historical narrative and identity. The societal relevance of these findings is discussed in relation to the declining resonance of positive national narratives in the United States, amidst increasing domestic polarization and recent failures of the state to respond to crises. This has implications for the narrative resources that are available to political leaders in their rhetoric to mobilize the national identity of their followers and audience. Nonetheless, such rhetorical work does not occur within a vacuum, and the changing social/political context (see Chapter 4) may (re)activate the narratives that are still available within the minds of ordinary Americans today (see Chapter 3)
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    The New Zealand Gaidhealtachd = Sealain Nuadh Gaidhealtachd : the uses of history in the creating and sustaining of a culturally based community : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2007) Howell, Rosalind
    Natives have often wished that white people would study their own ancestors.1 1.Kame'elihiwa, in R. Borofsky,'Cook, Lono, Obeyeskere and Sahlins', Current Anthropology, 38, p.2. The topic of this thesis is the Gaidhealtachd Celtic Studies Summer School which takes place every year between the 2nd - 7th of January at Whangarei Heads School in Northland. The word Gaidhealtachd refers to a Gaelic speaking area (specifically of Scotland and Ireland), and is generally understood as the area where traditional ways survive and are valued. The objectives of the Gaidhealtachd, as outlined in the Gaidhealtachd Booklet produced in its tenth year, are that: 'The Gaidhealtachd seeks to promote an awareness of the cultural debt we owe to our Celtic ancestors, and to provide opportunities to explore Celtic arts, languages, values and traditions'.2 2.Gaidhealtachd booklet, 1999. The booklet also describes the Gaidhealtachd as being specifically for those 'who identify themselves as Celts of good will, who want to explore their own and related Celtic cultures in the spirit of rediscovery and redirection made possible in the unique context of New Zealand-Aotearoa'.3 3.Gaidhealtachd booklet, 1999. Gaidhealtachd has recently become a trust and has conducted a Celtic Studies Summer School annually for the last seventeen years. The Gaidhealtachd is an interesting topic for study because, while there are many Scots, Irish, and Welsh clubs and organisations in New Zealand, research has revealed that the Gaidhealtachd is probably the only group which encompasses all the individual Celtic cultural identities in an educational context. The choice of venue for the Summer School provides a further point of interest in that Whangarei Heads School, founded in 1857 or 1858, is the oldest continuously operated settler school in New Zealand. The school was established by members of the Gaelic speaking Nova Scotian Scots of Waipu who settled at Whangarei Heads in 1856. Whangarei Heads School has been the venue for the Gaidhealtachd for the last seventeen years, principally because of its historical significance as the oldest continuously operated settler school in New Zealand, and also because of its Gaelic speaking origins. It will be argued here that the history of the area of Whangarei Heads area generally, as well as that of the school, has had considerable influence over the development of the Gaidhealtachd Celtic Studies Summer School and that knowledge of the first settler community has become a touchstone for participants understanding of history in general and also in how it is interpreted on a personal level. This thesis will therefore consider the way history itself is used - in the history of the Scots from Nova Scotia, in the understanding of the Gaelic language as spoken by the settlers at Whangarei Heads and by the pupils of Whangarei Heads School, in the creation of a community based on a Celtic ethos, and in the significance and perceived wider understanding of the history of the Celtic peoples. As the leader of the Scottish Nova Scotian community who settled at Waipu and founded other communities such as Whangarei Heads, the role of the Reverend Norman McLeod as reference point will be discussed and it will be argued that there is significantly less emphasis placed on his part in the development of the Whangarei Heads community than that of Waipu.
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    The use of values and social identity to investigate occupational culture : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Ward, Robyn Felicity
    The present study applies the concept of organisational culture to the culture of psychology in New Zealand. It examined, from a multiple cultures perspective, the existence of an overall, general culture of psychology, and as well as investigating the existence of subcultures in groups defined by specialty, role, and sex. The study also provided an opportunity to compare a more traditional approach to investigating culture (values) with a more novel approach (social identity). Members of the New Zealand Psychological Society (n = 174) completed two versions of a Work Values Survey and an Identification Scale as part of a membership survey. Results were analysed using Principal Components Analysis. Analysis of values showed that there was some similarity among psychologists when they considered psychology in general, and some differences when considering their specialty. Differences were also found between academics and practitioners, and males and females. Analysis of identification produced results similar to those of values when looking at specialties and roles, but no differences were found between males and females. The results were discussed in terms of their support for a multiple cultures view, their use to the New Zealand Psychological Society, and their support of the use of Social Identity Theory for investigating cultural complexity in occupations and organisations.
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    Edges, margins and rocky perches : life stories of older disabled women : a thesis submitted to Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Wicks, Wendi
    The life stories of older disabled women are explored in this 'insider' study, as a part of dis-covering this marginalised community. Current images of disabled women, and explanations of how their identity is conceptualised focus principally on one or another factor. But this only provides a partial or static explanations, and laws policies and practices using such concepts as a basis are likely to be less than adequate. A key issue in this study is thus how identity for disabled women, can be adequately conceptualised. An alternative approach of multiplicity, of 'in between' as articulated in writings by Sawicki (1993) and Bhabha (1994) is proposed. Oral history interviews were conducted with seven disabled women over the age of 60. Methodology was carefully formulated to be appropriate to the situation of this marginalised group. Two central features were consultation with the community of disabled women, and partnership processes used with the women whose lives were audiotaped. Conventional oral history methods were used, with appropriate modifications to technique and technical considerations to ensure accessibility. The interviews were analysed in terms of the themes emerging from the interviews. The themes are in three main groups. The first grouping is about invisibility, attitudes and effects arising from the attitudes. The second grouping draws out the way disability, gender, age and work were seen to relate to one another. The third grouping is about the way identity is conceived, and how seemingly-discrete parts of identity fit into a whole. The study has implications for disabled women,and to others for whom identity does not derive solely from one group. The concept of multiple identities is therefore significant to lawmakers, policy formulators, employers and temporal and spiritual leaders.
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    The art of involvement : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Bryant, Claire
    Levy (1996, 367) says, The art of involvement discovers the current of music. How do we make a symphony rise from the murmur of a multiple? How do we transfer the sound of a crowd into a chorus, without a musical score? The collective intellect continually brings the social contract into play, it keeps the group in a state of renewal. This thesis focuses on the role of the relations of production in building human capital, recognising this as a component of economic development, along with mobilising financial capital and utilising the natural resource base. Although relations of production sometimes destroy human capital, this thesis discusses examples where marginalised groups have used creolisation strategies to resist globalisation and build their human capital - first, Maori seeking to improve their position of equity within the economy and, secondly, women seeking to use the Net on their own terms. The privatising of the economy, and of the Net, symbolises the continued exclusion of marginalised groups from control, or even much influence, within the post-industrial economy of text and image flows now dominating global economics and culture-making. The risk for Maori and women is that the hunger of a global digital entertainment industry (which today includes marketing, movies, games, politics, chat lines and the news) for different and especially new information, even in the midst of what is, for the individual, infinitely abundant information, is that their stories will be absorbed but leave them with no means of exchange. The telling of different, but equally persuasive stories, is characteristic of the use of creolisation strategies that resist global cultural colonisation. In both large and small ways, the Maori and women in the case studies are using involvement in interactive performances to deny the power of the one-way monologue transmitted by elites seeking passivity, isolation and un-resisting consumption. Although we may live in a 'sea of stories' and sometimes the tide seems to bring only other people's stories it is useful to remember the power of the undercurrent to subvert surface intentions. I use hermeneutic methodology to discuss historic examples of interactive performance and, by comparing these with present day case studies, I develop the argument that such performances have always been used to build human capital. As a relation of production, interactive performance is based on mutuality and negotiation and, when people have the opportunity to practise these skills, they also increase their choices to adopt them in their daily life. By providing 'safe' environments, like flags on the beach within the marae and on the Net, interactive performances create a collective playspace that encourages people to practice and explore self determination skills, and remember the presence of the undercurrent.
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    Social identity theory and intergroup relations in gender dominated occupations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2001) Baird, Christina Margaret
    Previous research has found that men and women have quite different experiences of working in opposite gender dominated occupations. The effect of societal status on the processes that occur in gender dominated occupations often results in negative outcomes for women and positive outcomes for men. The study aimed to explore the attitudes and beliefs of individuals working in gender dominated occupations. It focussed specifically on how people who work in gender dominated occupations react to their group's position as a numerical majority or minority and the groups' attitudes towards their situation. Social Identity Theory (SIT, Tajfel & Turner, 1979) was adopted as a guiding framework for the research. The sample for the study consisted of male and female volunteers working in gender dominated occupations. 110 male and female nurses and 97 men and women working in two male dominated occupations (engineers and prison officers) participated. To achieve the aims of the study specific areas of SIT were measured. The areas included identification with the gender group, how prominent gender and occupation were in the self-concept, and whether gender was used as a basis for categorisations of others. Also measured were perceptions of the status of the groups and beliefs about how fair and open to change the intergroup situation was. In addition, perceived acceptance of the ingroup and acceptance towards the outgroup, beliefs about changing the groups' position and the support or rejection of outgroups' beliefs were measured. The following specific measures were used: the Spontaneous Self-concept, the Gender Salience Scale, and Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone and Crook's (1989) measure of group identification. SIT makes specific predictions about how beliefs about the intergroup situation and identification with the group are related to social change beliefs. Results showed that gender affected choice of social change beliefs for achieving positive distinctiveness, with men being higher on social mobility beliefs, and women higher in social creativity and social competition beliefs. Engineers were higher in social mobility beliefs and social creativity beliefs than nurses. Status also affected social change beliefs with low status groups being more likely to choose social competition strategies than high status groups. Women showed less support for social competition and social creativity beliefs in the outgroup than men. Women showed more support for social mobility beliefs in the outgroup than men. Nurses showed less support for social mobility beliefs in the outgroup than engineers. Nurses had lower social competition (maintaining status) beliefs than did engineers. Status also affected support of the outgroup's social change beliefs. The low status group showed higher support of social mobility beliefs in the outgroup than the high status group, and higher social competition beliefs than the equal and high status groups. The equal group showed less support for outgroup social competition than did the high status group. The results of regression analysis showed that gender was the best predictor of ingroup social mobility beliefs and ingroup social competition beliefs. Gender also was the best predictor of attitudes towards outgroup social mobility beliefs and ingroup social competition (to maintain status) beliefs. Gender identification was the best predictor of ingroup social creativity beliefs, and support for social creativity beliefs in the outgroup. Legitimacy beliefs were the best predictor of support or rejection of the outgroup's social competition beliefs. The results of this study highlight the importance of using an approach that explores the different variables that predict each social change belief rather than focussing on the relationship between identification and differentiation as previous studies have done.
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    Identity viewed askew : a debate with special reference to a feminist theological organisation : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology, Department of Social and Cultural Studies, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University. School of Social and Cultural Studies, 2005) Leggatt-Cook, Chez
    A critical task in the formation of any political group is the determination and articulation of group identity, purpose and goals. In holding that identity is impervious to capture, much poststructuralist thought has little to contribute to an understanding of the precise processes and ongoing tensions involved in such drives for representation. The essentialism debate in feminist theory, for instance, has been primarily concerned with determining which conceptualisation of women's subjectivity will best facilitate feminism's political goals. However, under the influential feminist deconstructive perspective, a dilemma emerges regarding how an anti-essentialist notion of femininity might be reconciled with the essentialism required for a distinctly feminist voice. Alternatively, post-Lacanian psychoanalysis views subjectivity as an effect of fundamentally irresolvable antagonisms in language, allowing the emphasis to shift from the (attempted) reconciliation of irresolvable tensions to the identification of mechanisms that work to conceal those tensions, thereby permitting a sense of subjectivity to be articulated. This thesis explores the methodological implications of these theoretical debates, examining how the psychoanalytic line of questioning might be used to analyse feminist identity in an empirical setting. Research was conducted with the Women's Resource Centre (WRC) based in Auckland, New Zealand, an organisation originally established to provide feminist theology resources to women undergoing theological education. Using a conversational methodology and the observation of material expressions of identity, the research attempts to view the Centre's identity 'askew.' In doing so, it considers the creative yet eventually regressive impact of the postmodern privileging of difference and multiplicity on the feminist identity of the Centre. Referring specifically to the changing expression of the Centre's identity (in promotional material, funding applications and the WRC Story), the thesis traces the effects of ideological tension (in incorporating more inclusive notions of justice with feminist politics) and organisational change (dispersion of the original community, high staff turnover, shift in organisational culture, funding difficulties). Wider implications of the research for voluntary and feminist organisations are indicated, along with an evaluation of post-Lacanian psychoanalysis for the empirical study of identity and for the overarching theoretical concerns of the thesis.